All Love Really Takes
by Frosty Wolf
Summary: Okay, so they were a little different. Okay they were very different! But in their defense, the other TDI couples didn't look good on paper either. And past failures were not going to stop them from trying to be happy together.
1. When you really Love Someone

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Little secret, I should be doing homework right now; college really keeps a guy busy. But I decided that I should do something for Valentines Day, and this is what hit me. What can I say, I love crack pairings. Bear in mind that I don't dislike canon pairings, I just prefer fanon. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter One: When you really Love Someone

No one saw it coming.

Of course no one saw it coming! As far as everyone else knew, the two had never even spoken to each other.

It was a Valentines Day special; Chris thought it would be a nice way for the campers to exchange stories in between seasons two and three. How did he keep roping them back in every summer? None of them knew, and no ones lawyer was any help either.

So everyone was back at the resort that the losers had stayed at when they were kicked off the first time around. They had been the last to arrive, which ensured that everyone saw them as they entered the pool area.

True, they knew that he and Beth had separated on good terms, and that Courtney and Duncan's relationship had more or less imploded just after season two, after a big fight no one knew the details about.

So when the pair had arrived, hand in hand, everyone just sort of stared at the odd couple before Chris finally greeted them with a confused expression.

The couple soon split up to see their old friends, but not without a quick kiss goodbye that left everyone even more confused than they had been before.

Courtney walked over to Bridgette with a friendly wave; the surfer girl had been relaxing in the hot tub with her boyfriend. Though in this case, relaxing had meant making out. Geoff nudged his girlfriend lightly to get her to snap out of daze and return the wave.

Cody had walked up to Trent and Gwen, who had been relaxing on some lounge chairs. Cody went to give the musician a high five, but was left hanging. Gwen came to her senses before her boyfriend and gave Cody a short hug. After he relaxed and tried to be himself around Gwen, rather than flirt with her, the two had become close friends.

Of course, being close friends meant not keeping secrets, secrets like dating a certain CIT.

After breaking the hug, the Goth fixed Cody with a hard stare. Her way of asking, 'what was that all about?' And he would be lying if he said he hadn't seen this coming.

So with a sigh, he started to explain.

* * *

It had all started near the end of TDI, Leshawna had just been voted off just the other day, and was still trying to figure out how exactly that had happened.

Personally, Cody blamed the parrot.

Courtney had been moping around the hotel; Leshawna had quickly put an end to her little Harold hunting sport. So now the counselor in training was trying, and failing, to relax.

Cody had been relaxing in the shade with a cheeseburger and a cold root beer. Watching the girl across from him angrily flip through the magazine she was holding and shooting the occasional glare at a fellow nerd and friend of his.

Said nerd was walking around the pool, finishing the tour he had been giving his crush.

To most people, the angry mumbling and death glare would have been a sign to keep a good distance. But Cody wasn't most people; he was a guy who hated to see other people in any kind of negative state, especially if that person was a girl.

So finishing off the last of his lunch Cody tentatively approached the young woman, who had gone back to flipping through the magazine and trying to find something to distract herself with.

"What are you reading?"

Courtney turned her eyes from the magazine to the young man in front of her. Somewhat confused as to why he was talking to her in the first place.

"A magazine," was the clipped response. Expecting the boy to retreat at the hostile response, she was confused when he continued to stand in front of her.

"Cool, what's it called?"

Blinking at the question the CIT opened her mouth to respond, and then paused. Courtney flipped the pages to see the magazines cover, and gave an exasperated sound when she did.

_Glamour Gals, no wonder I couldn't find anything good in here._

Tossing the magazine to the side with a huff, Courtney crossed her arms and pouted, hoping this display would be enough to send the boy on his way.

It wasn't. "Do you want to talk?" They say the third times the charm; in this case, the charm sent Courtney over the edge.

"Talk, talk about what, how that traitor Harold voted me off the show, how I should be there right now competing, how none of my teammates seem to even care, how my parents are going to blame me for this, is that what I should talk about you little freak?"

Courtney's voices had started at a whisper and grown into a scream by the end of her rant. Red faced and panting, the CIT glared at the young man in front of her, willing him to disappear with the rest of her problems.

Cody just stood there taking the verbal assault without flinching, even after the freak comment and with a sad smile answered her. "Yeah, do you want to talk about it?"

Fortunately, everyone else had evacuated the pool area when it became clear that the situation was turning ugly, and no one really wanted to see the violence that would surely follow.

So Courtney started yelling again, and kept doing so for a good fifteen minutes, before she started to get hoarse and finally broke down her angry yells devolving into quiet sobs.

Finally having run out of steam, the CIT was quietly crying, and she didn't resist when he quietly reached out and hugged her, softly telling her it would be all right while she cried into his shoulder. Having grown up with two sisters, he had some idea of how to deal with emotional girls.

After that, when Courtney needed to vent, she went and spoke to Cody. They even exchanged cell numbers and e-mail addresses so that she could vent when he couldn't talk to her directly.

And when her anger finally ran its course, they began to talk about other things. About school, friends, their families, not that anyone else knew, it was their little secret. And after TDI was over, they stayed in touch with the occasional e-mail and phone call.

* * *

"And that's how it all started." Cody finished with a shrug.

"And you didn't tell us this because…" Trent trailed off uncertainly.

"It was just talking; we didn't actually get together until two months ago."

Gwen and Trent exchanged looks but chose to let the situation drop for the moment and let themselves talk about other things.

* * *

Courtney and Bridgette had just finished catching up on what they had been doing since Total Drama Action last summer. So Bridgette finally asked the question that was bugging her.

"So you and Cody are dating, right?"

"That's right," Courtney replied with a smile.

"How did that happen?" Geoff finished his girlfriend's question.

Courtney sighed and decided to start at the point when she and Duncan had finally broken up.

"Well you see it all started about five months ago in the park."

* * *

"So that's it then, you're just going to walk away?" Courtney asked hysterically.

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about! You're so intense all the time; I just can't take it anymore." Duncan replied, trying to keep his voice level.

He had seen this coming for a while, and he was pretty sure she had as well. They just weren't getting along like they use to, every little thing seemed to start a fight between the two of them. Duncan wanted to take things a little more easily and Courtney wanted him to be serious.

"That's because you are so damn frustrating," the now seventeen year old girl blurted out. "You make everything nice we try to do together into a joke!"

At this point Duncan was getting really frustrated, and Courtney somehow looked ready to cry and kill someone at the same time. He had been hoping Courtney would have quietly accepted this and let it go; needless to say, that plan hadn't really worked out.

"Look princess, we tried, we failed, it isn't working and if we keep trying it will just get worse," the punk rose from the bench they were sitting at and shrugged. "You know that as well as I do, maybe you'll have better luck with someone else."

So Duncan walked away, unlike the near breakups they had in the past they both knew that this was it. Maybe in another time, another place, they could have worked out, but here and now it just wasn't going to happen.

And Courtney did what many teenage girls do after breaking up with their boyfriend of several months, she went home and cried.

She didn't leave her room for the rest of that evening and the next day she just kind of sleepwalked through. She needed to talk to someone; her mother might have been a good choice, if she hadn't disliked Duncan so fiercely.

So Courtney called the only person she could think of to talk to. She told Cody everything that had happened in between tears while he tried his best to reassure her. She knew he and Beth had recently ended a short relationship of their own. Though on far better terms than she and Duncan had.

But the next day when she tried to call Cody again, the message wouldn't go through, and this continued for a few days much to Courtney's surprise. She began to wonder if she had said something wrong or if she had finally complained too much for him to put up with.

After the fifth day Courtney had reached a new emotional low. So she lied lethargically on the couch, flipping through the channels on the television, looking for something to catch her interest. She had finally found a movie when the front doorbell rang.

Courtney rose with a huff and muted the television, she reached the front door and opened it with a rather scathing remark on the tip of her tongue, until she saw who it was and the words died in her throat.

"Surprise," Cody exclaimed holding his arms up.

He was instantly knocked backwards by a sudden blur as Courtney greeted him with a tight hug, effectively knocking the air from his lungs.

"Cody, what are you doing here?" The CIT asked excitedly, her bad mood forgotten for the moment.

"My family moved in just a couple of blocks away."

"You did?" Courtney knew he was moving, he had mentioned it in passing. But he never told her he was moving here.

"Well you see, the house we were going to move into had water damage, so my family's been looking for a new place like crazy for the last two weeks because we had already sold our house, and this is what they found."

"And you didn't tell me because?"

"Well a few days ago when the movers first arrived, one of them broke my cell phone and that's where I had you're number stored so I couldn't call you."

_Well that does explain why my calls didn't go through._ Courtney thought to herself, finally releasing Cody from the hug and then a new question came to her.

"How do you know where I live?"

"I called Chris this morning and asked him, I knew you lived in this town so I wanted to surprise you."

"And why does Chris know where I live?" Courtney was starting to get a little creped out by the host.

Cody shrugged with an, I don't know sound. For the first time since his arrival Courtney, took a chance to really look at him. He had grown a few inches since TDI, and if his smile was any indication, he had finally been to the dentist's office.

"Anyway, how are you feeling Courtney? You sounded really upset a few days ago."

With that reminder of what had happened between her and her ex, Courtney sighed and started telling Cody what had happened.

* * *

"And that's how it started; we went to the same school and started hanging out together."

"And then you started dating?" Bridgette inquired, curiously.

Courtney shook her head in a negative response. "No that took…something else."

Geoff and Bridgette exchanged looks but decided that they had pushed her enough for one conversation, they would find out what 'something else' was later.

For the moment, they were just teenagers, friends, and couples. They could be competitors later, for now they would relax.

* * *

Right, there is the first chapter, and just in time for Valentines Day too. This will only be a few chapters most likely, it was meant to be a one-shot but I ran out of time and this seemed like a great day to start it. Well, I hope you enjoyed, I'm off to read other Valentine's Day stories.


	2. In the Moonlight

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Right here is the second chapter of what was meant to be a one-shot. A few people asked so I will confirm the time line of the story, this takes place after Total Drama Action and before a third season the campers were drawn into with random flashbacks. Oh and to everyone who added this story to their favorites or alerted this story, please review and tell me what you think, I like receiving feedback. Enjoy.

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Chapter two: In the Moonlight

The sun was finally beginning to set; the hotel staff had set out a buffet with a variety of food in the pool area where some of the teens were relaxing together.

It was meant to be a romantic dinner under the moon and the stars. The campers who weren't actually seeing someone else on the island had simply gotten their food and wandered off somewhere. The couples, on the other hand, were seated around the pool, lying under the starlit sky and basking in the glow of the torches, reveling in the romantic atmosphere. The fact that this was all being caught on camera was temporarily lost on the campers.

Courtney and Cody were sitting side by side towards the deep end of the pool, gazing up at the stars. Cody had already finished his dinner but Courtney was finishing up a plate of pasta she had gotten from the buffet.

Cody glanced over at his girlfriend, and smiled when he saw the content look on her face. This was how he liked to see Courtney, not frustrated or angry, but at peace. Without the pressure school, the island, or her overbearing parents put on her she was so much more fun to be around.

Courtney got a lot of pressure from her parents in particular. Her father was a successful lawyer while her mother did something for a large insurance firm. He wasn't exactly sure what. Their work took a lot of time; and this had limited their time with their daughter while she was growing up. On the one hand, this had made Courtney into a very self-sufficient young woman, but on the other, it made interacting with her parents kind of awkward as she got older.

Cody knew how insecure Courtney could be about relationships with people, whether or not the relationship was romantic in nature. He hated to admit it, but she could get a little jealous when he interacted with other girls. This was flattering, and at the same time, exasperating.

Courtney had finished off her plate of pasta while Cody was lost in his thoughts. Rising to get another serving Courtney turned to ask Cody if he wanted anything from the buffet, and stopped when she saw the faraway look in his eye. A small but sly smile found its way onto her face as she turned back and started towards the buffet again.

Cody was still lost in his thoughts when she returned so he didn't notice her. Not until she brought the can of soda she had grabbed and pressed it to the back of his neck. Cody jumped at the feeling of cold metal pressed against his flesh but managed to keep from yelling out.

He was broken out of his shock by his girlfriends giggling, and turned to face her with a small frown. Courtney found the whole situation very amusing.

Courtney realized she had finally gotten his attention and tried to stop her giggling, "I'm sorry but you were so out of it I wanted to get you're attention." She got this out in between giggles.

Cody tried to continue frowning at her, but smiled despite himself. Courtney only did stuff like this when she was in a good mood, and truthfully, he liked to see her mischievous side too.

Finally getting control of herself, Courtney offered Cody the soda she had grabbed. "So what were you thinking about anyway?"

Idly opening the can and taking a sip the teen paused for a moment before answering, "I was thinking about that time I had dinner with your mother, remember that."

The CIT stopped smiling and sighed. Yes, she remembered that night very well.

* * *

"So, how do you know my daughter?" That had been the first thing out of Courtney's mothers mouth after Cody had arrived. Her father was out of town on business so it was just the three of them that evening.

Her mother had kept silent while Courtney had greeted him at the door, only inclining her head in acknowledgement when he had greeted her. Now that they were all seated at the table she had finally broken the silence.

Cody was taken aback by the somewhat accusing tone but tried his best to answer. "We met on TDI, the reality show."

"Yes young man, I know what Total Drama Island was." Courtney's mother looked like an older version of her daughter, but with darker hair, paler skin, and a sterner look on her face.

The woman began to spoon out spaghetti before continuing. "You were the one assaulted by the bear, correct?"

"Um, yes." Cody answered, becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

Courtney sighed and shook her head, this happened every time she had a friend over; her mother went into interrogation mode. And the dinners with Duncan and another past boyfriend she made the mistake of asking over, well, that had been nothing short of a nightmare.

The dinner continued that way for a while, her mother would ask questions while Cody did his best to answer in between mouthfuls. Unfortunately the questions continued to get more and more invasive, so by the time they were finished with dinner, Cody was trying very blatantly to change the subject.

"I'll go get desert." Courtney volunteered as the plates were cleared away, and then rushed out of the dining room to the kitchen.

Much to his displeasure, this left Cody and the potentially unstable woman alone at the table. The woman seemed to be trying to burn a hole in his head, and if will was all that took, Cody would have been dead over half an hour ago.

The woman opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by Cody's cell phone.

"You didn't turn you're cell phone off?"

Cody turned away, ignoring the hopefully rhetorical question, more than a little grateful for the interruption.

"Hello."

"Listen Cody, its Courtney, do not say my name." The command was swift and kept him from doing just that. Cody stared at the phone oddly for a moment, and then brought it to his mouth to continue speaking.

"Okay...why are you calling?"

"I'm doing you a favor, look, just act like you just heard something bad."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm getting you out of the rest of the dinner, look, just act like there's a problem and you have to go home."

"Oh, I see," Cody said in what he hoped was a convincing tone of worry. "I'll be over right away."

Cody ended the call and told Courtney's mother and told her he had to get home immediately. She asked if she could do anything, but he politely declined. Once he was out of view of the house, Cody broke into a sprint, and didn't stop until he got home.

Courtney sighed in relief, her mother always got really intense when desert finally came. "Courtney," the teen turned to look at her mother, "he was a nice boy, and we should have him over again sometime."

Fortunately, she didn't wait for an answer before heading to her room, because all that she would have gotten was an incredulous look from her daughter.

* * *

Courtney only shook her head at the memory.

"And we weren't even dating back then."

Cody nodded at that; he didn't even want to consider what the woman would be like now that they were a couple. He knew he couldn't avoid her forever, but he could certainly try!

"Why did you invite me over anyway?"

Courtney only shrugged; truthfully, she didn't know what she had been thinking back then.

Gwen chose that moment to approach the pair, she had something she wanted to ask Cody before she went to bed and couldn't wait any longer. Trent was tired and had already gone to bed so she figured she might as well do it now before she did the same.

"Excuse me," the Goth started, "mind if I talk to Cody for a minute, thanks." Not waiting for a response Gwen took Cody by the arm and lead him away.

Courtney watched Gwen drag her boyfriend away with mixed feelings, Cody and Gwen were friends, but Cody once had a rather large crush on Gwen. And even though his feelings hadn't been returned, it still made her somewhat uneasy to see the two together like this.

Sighing, she kicked at the ground lightly with her right foot. She knew that she was being paranoid; Cody would never do anything behind her back. And that was under the assumption that Gwen actually felt something for Cody. Which she didn't, right?

After a few minutes, Courtney was ready to go over there and demand an explanation; she really didn't like how close the two were standing while they spoke.

Fortunately, Gwen seemed satisfied with whatever Cody had told her because she said goodbye and headed back towards the hotel.

Cody returned the gesture and went back over to his seat, Courtney waited for him with an unreadable expression on her face.

"So, what did she want?"

Courtney hadn't meant for that to come out the way it had, she just had a hard time keeping her emotions in check sometimes.

Cody shrugged, "she just wanted my advice about something between her and Trent." Courtney didn't like how evasive the answer was, but chose to accept it for the moment.

Looking around for a new topic, Courtney saw that the pool area was almost abandoned, the only people there apart from her and Cody were Tyler and Lindsay who were making out rather heatedly, totally oblivious to the outside world.

Cody followed her line of sight, and blushed when he saw what the couple was doing. Tyler had his hands up the back of Lindsay's shirt while the pair continued to kiss.

Cody turned to his girlfriend with a sly smirk. "Think we should give them some privacy."

Courtney returned the look with a small but genuine smile. "I don't think they'd notice if everyone was here staring at them.

"Probably but still," suddenly an idea hit him. "Why don't we go see a movie?"

"What, you don't want to make out too?"

Laughing at her blushing boyfriends stuttering response the CIT grabbed his arm and leads him back towards the building, leaving behind an empty pool and two oblivious teens that really shouldn't go much farther while there are cameras around.

* * *

Well there we go second chapter. I hope everyone that read this enjoyed it, and please take a moment to tell me what you think of the story.


	3. Of Movie Theatres and Grudges

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Wow, only one review for the last chapter. Was it really that bad? Oh well, here is another chapter of what was meant to be a one-shot, on with the show.

* * *

Chapter Three: Of Movie Theaters and Grudges

The resort had more than just a pool and a buffet to keep its guests entertained. It also had a small entertainment center. Complete with big screen television, popcorn maker, snack bar, and a small collection of videos and DVD's. Cody was hoping that, as late as it was, no one else would be using it. That way he and Courtney could have some privacy.

And to his relief, it was empty. Courtney went to pick out the movie, and he was getting some popcorn and something to drink. It would be the first time the two would get a chance to be alone since they arrived. This was a Valentines Day retreat; it was a time for romance.

So after a few minutes of preparation, the pair was relaxing on the couch. Some sort of romantic comedy movie was playing, but Cody didn't really pay attention to it. His attention was focused on the girl relaxing against his right side. Courtney was an incredible girl, and Cody saw himself as lucky to have her.

Still, everyone had their flaws.

And Cody was about to be reminded of one of his girlfriends worse ones.

* * *

A little over an hour and a half later, the movie was drawing to a close, and Courtney was beginning to nod off. The two teens had spent most of it just relaxing on the couch together. Eating popcorn and drinking soda, just like in a regular movie theatre. Eventually, Courtney ended up leaning against Cody, her head resting on his shoulder. Slowly closing her eyes, the CIT decided that she was too comfortable to be moved despite how late it was getting, and let herself begin to drift off.

Somehow, over the sound of the television and her own breathing, Courtney made out the sound of the door opening. Lazily opening one eye to take a look at the doorway, she took a moment to process the image. Then snapped open both her eyes and straightened up.

That Lousy Backstabbing Traitor!

Harold was standing there in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. What he was doing there. She didn't know, or particularly care. She didn't notice Leshawna coming up behind him, or the movie in his hands. Anyone could have done the math, he had probably been hoping for some private time with his girlfriend. But she didn't care about that.

She just wanted him gone!

Cody was focusing on the credits and didn't notice Harold until Courtney suddenly straightened up. Looking away from the screen he saw his girlfriend angrily staring at something. He followed her eyes to the door and winced.

This was not going to end well.

Courtney had matured quite a bit from the time she had been on Total Drama Island. But one thing she had never fully gotten over was Harold cheating to get her voted off. Cody didn't personally dislike Harold. The two shared a number of common interests; largely tech related ones that let them get along rather easily.

Unfortunately, Courtney still couldn't stand the nerd. And while he did feel that she had a right to be upset after what he had done, he kind of hoped she would have let it go. On the other hand, he was her boyfriend. Wasn't he supposed to take her side in these sorts of things?

Harold noticed his former teammate's angry gaze immediately after entering the room. He felt the withering stare before he actually saw it. His thoughts mirrored Cody's; this was not going to end well. He winced at the angry look the girl was shooting at him. Still, there was no reason not to try, right?

Leshawna looked between the two with a frown. She hadn't even noticed the two on the couch, until Harold had suddenly stopped in front of her. And she did not like the way the crazy in training was eying her boyfriend. Cody seemed like a sweet enough boy, and she honestly didn't get what he saw in her.

Managing a nervous smile Harold started. "Hey Courtney, how have you been?"

Courtney would have screamed at the bespectacled teen. But her boyfriend placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to quietly calm her down. It worked just well enough to keep her from screaming at her enemy.

"Just fine," was the clipped response.

Harold and Cody looked on at the sight with growing dread. Leshawna only looked annoyed at the way Courtney was glaring at her boyfriend.

"I was just leaving, as a matter of fact."

Without waiting for a response, Courtney got up and walked out of the room. Pushing past Harold as she walked, her posture showing just how upset seeing the boy had made her. Cody got up to follow her, stopping only to offer an apologetic smile to Harold and Leshawna. Harold returned the gesture while Leshawna offered a somewhat sympathetic look.

* * *

Exiting the movie room, Cody caught a glance of his girlfriends form retreating going around the corner. Giving chase, he struggled to keep up with her longer stride. Turning another corner, Cody saw Courtney had stopped halfway down the hallway, leaning against the wall.

Her back was to him and he could see her thin form shaking, but not out of anger.

Cautiously approaching her, he could hear the quiet sounds of her trying to hold back tears. Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her into a loose hug. As he did, her quiet sobs started to break through, despite her attempts to hold them at bay.

"It'll be alright," he tried to assure her, moving around so that he could embrace her from the front, he saw the tears flowing down her face amidst the quiet sobs. He felt his own smile fall at the sight.

It really hurt him to see her so torn up inside.

Courtney felt the arms wrap themselves around her waist, but tried to shrug them off. She didn't want to be comforted, and she wanted to be alone, she wanted to get over this by herself. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

Pulling her into a tighter hug, he tried to show her he was there for her. Slowly she began to return the embrace, her arms shaking as they moved around his waist. Her legs gave out and she went to her knees, bringing Cody with her.

He went down to one knee so that Courtney wouldn't accidentally fall over. Her face met the crook of his neck and she began to cry in earnest. In between sobs she tried to speak, her voice cracking in between words.

"I hate this."

"I know." He assured her.

"I hate him, I hate being mad at him!"

"I know."

"I even hate you."

"That's a lot of hate."

"I know," she replied.

Managing a short laugh despite everything, Cody tried his best to reassure Courtney that everything would be fine.

After a few minutes Courtney calmed down enough to stop herself from crying any further. Looking up through her red tear stained eyes, Courtney looked at her boyfriend. Cody only smiled softly back at her, pausing to brush aside a tear on her cheek. The CIT smiled at the small, tender gesture.

"Feeling better now?"

Courtney tried to smile back as she tried to stand up again.

"A little, thank you."

"It was no big deal."

"Yes it was," Courtney argued. "You always listen to me, and I really appreciate that."

Courtney smile widened slightly as her boyfriend began to blush from the praise. He really wasn't used to receiving compliments from girls.

Dipping her head down to meet his, Courtney kissed her boyfriend lightly on the lips. Cody was a little surprised, but quickly returned the kiss. It was a beautiful moment, a young couple softly kissing, trying to convey all their feelings through that kiss.

Then a few seconds later, the moment was over.

Breaking the kiss, Courtney felt most of her anger had melted away, leaving her with a strangely content feeling. Sometimes she wondered what Cody saw in her. Looking in the mirror, all she ever saw was a bitter, cynical girl that was uptight all the time and couldn't let go of old grudges.

But Cody saw something else when he looked at her.

Shaking her head at the thoughts she decided it was time that she went to bed, she wanted some time to herself to think anyway.

"Good night, Cody."

Pausing just long enough to give him one last kiss on the cheek, Courtney started towards her room. Cody watched her go sadly. Part of him knew she wanted to get through this on her own, but still.

A bigger part of him wanted to help her through it.

* * *

And there you go, chapter three. Sorry this took so long but there's been some real world interference. On the bright side, I can now work on my stories at home. Up till now I have been doing it at the library, so updates should speed up a little. If Courtney seemed a little out of character, I'll just say this. Enough time has passed since TDI that she has somewhat gotten over what Harold did, that said a teenager can be their own worse critic. So that's why she seemed a little harsh judging herself.

Speaking of judging leave a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter. Any critic would be appreciated too; I'm still a little new at this. Or just say that you liked about the chapter.


	4. Taking Strength from a Sunrise

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Well, I had intended to work on new chapters for my other two stories first. But with all the support I got from my last chapter, I just had to get to work on this. It might seem strange, but I feel like I'm getting sentimental about these stories of mine.

Oh, and on a different note, what do you think this pairing should be officially called? Kobold called it Codourty, but I prefer Courdy. Which do you prefer? The way I see it, I started the pairing so I should give it a name. Just a little something I would like you all to think about, now on with the show.

* * *

Chapter Four: Taking Strength from a Sunrise

Courtney went to her room immediately after she finished speaking with Cody and changed into her nightclothes. She had hoped staying at the resort would give her a chance to relax and enjoy herself a little. But now, she was just as stressed as she had been before she had arrived.

Misery seemed to have a way of finding people wherever they went, especially when Chris Maclean was nearby.

No! As much as she would like to blame him, and she did. Chris really had nothing to do with her current depression. She only had herself to blame for that.

These thoughts tortured her while she tossed and turned in her temporary bed. But no matter how she positioned herself. No matter how hard she tried to clear her mind. She simply could not find a way to fall asleep. Finally, the CIT opened her eyes and gave up on clearing her mind. A quick glance at the alarm clock next to her bed made her groan. It was already past two thirty in the morning.

With a sigh, Courtney decided that she might as well try and clear her mind outside, and went to put on her robe. Quietly opening her door, so she would not accidentally wake up someone else, Courtney decided to head for the dock.

* * *

Cody wasn't having much success getting to sleep either. He had managed to nod off twice already. But each time he would wake up a few minutes later in a cold sweat, his mind refused to stop going so he could get a little rest.

Turning to lay on his left side, Cody looked out the window. The way his room was position gave him a rather nice view of the moon. And there was something about the floating sphere that he found comforting. He could understand why girls seemed to find the sight romantic.

Sitting up the young man got up and walked over to the window. Maybe watching the full moon for a while would help him get to sleep.

He placed his elbows against the windowsill and leaned against it. He let his thoughts drift back to what had happened earlier that day...or was it yesterday? He really wasn't sure how late it had been when he and Courtney had finished the movie.

Courtney, he knew that her issues with Harold were just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Courtney had a lot of things that she kept to herself. It was in her nature, she wasn't someone who liked to rely on other people.

Cody respected this, but he still wished she would talk to him. After all, no one could bear the weight of the world by themselves. Not that it would stop Courtney from trying. But most people who had done so in the past ended up crushed by that weight.

It was funny really, Courtney had confided in him more when they had been friends than she did now that they were a couple. Why was that? Did she think he would dump her for venting to him? It was a silly thought to him. An important part of any relationship was trust, and opening up to your partner. Relationships were built on trust.

And even though he would never say it, it was that lack of trust that had ultimately ended her relationship with Duncan. The punk had a soft side, however well hidden, but he wasn't the natural comforting type. And he was more likely to feed Courtney's anger or wait for it to abate than comfort her. What Courtney needed was someone to help her work through, not stress her out further.

Cody had tried prying a few times but his girlfriend was very evasive. She would either give him half answers or change the subject entirely. If he wanted answers he was going to have to be direct.

But how far was it appropriate to push?

He honestly wasn't sure. Getting to reveal one thing that was bothering her might get her to open up about other things though. And if he pushed too far, she would be sure to let him know.

Dropping his gaze from the moon for a moment, Cody saw a figure moving through the moonlight and a few scattered lights outside.

_Well, now's as good a time as ever._ Cody thought to himself, reaching for his clothes.

* * *

Courtney was back under the stars.

But the CIT had elected to sit on a bench a few feet away from the dock. Rather than take a seat on the cold hard wood of the dock.

The dock of shame, it brought back so many memories. She had seen so many people walk it and been forced down it herself. They weren't particularly pleasant memories, but she doubted she would ever forget them.

She was still aware enough of her surroundings to hear someone walking up to her. And when the figure got close enough for her to identify, she wasn't really sure what to feel.

Cody looked at his girlfriend quietly for a moment, trying to figure out how best to approach the situation.

"May I sit down?"

Courtney smiled slightly at the courtesy behind the question. Most people seemed to lose their basic manners at their age, and moved to one side of the bench. Cody sat down, mentally going through ways to approach the subject and different possible responses. Courtney was a little confused by his out of character nervousness.

"Courtney." He looked at her to make sure he had her full attention.

"Yeah."

"What's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Yes there is, wait listen to me." He said when she opened her mouth to object. "Something has been bothering you since just after we started dating? I just want to know what it is, I want to help you!"

Courtney took that in quietly and the frustration she was feeling dissipate at his pleading tone. Once it did, she couldn't bring herself to answer the question and silently stared at the ground.

"Courtney." The tech geek prodded.

"It's complicated." The brunette confessed.

"I don't mind."

"You don't understand."

"Please, don't you trust me?"

"No! I mean I do! Wait," Courtney said this trying to figure out what to say, and how to say it, without upsetting the boy next to her. She usually didn't care what people thought of when she told them the truth, they could deal with is. But Cody was important to her, and she didn't want to upset him with her petty problems.

So she told him that. And to her surprise, he actually laughed.

"Courtney, I doubt whatever is bothering you is 'petty'. And even if it is, I don't mind. I want to help you, be there for you, like I was before. When we were friends here a few months ago you would tell me what was bothering you. But now that were dating your pushing me away."

Cody looked Courtney straight in the eye, trying to show the rest of his heartfelt plea without words. By the time he had finished Courtney was beginning to feel guilty, she hadn't meant to push him out.

"Cody," Courtney began softly, "I haven't been trying to push you away. It's just that seeing everyone here brings up so many memories. And a lot of them are unpleasant, it's like being here reminds me of how I failed back on the island."

Cody blinked, that had not been the answer he had been expecting.

"Failed? You didn't fail. Sure you didn't win, but were never technically voted off. That's more than anyone but Owen can claim."

Courtney only shook her head.

"No, that isn't what I mean. I failed a lot back on the island."

Courtney felt her eyes begin to water and wanted to stop, but she couldn't. She wanted to finally get this off her chest.

"The challenges, I failed at pretty much all of them. As a leader, the best anyone on the team did was fourth place. What does that say about me? I couldn't win the challenges myself; I couldn't lead us to victory. And then I blew it royally during season two."

"But none of that means you're a failure!"

"Yes it does." She screamed at the boy in front of her, not even noticing the tears streaming down her face again. "I didn't jump the first day, I couldn't face my fear during the phobia challenge. I dropped out of boot camp because I couldn't stop laughing. Don't even get me started on how often I lost my temper."

Courtney was half expecting her boyfriend to walk away after verbal barrage, and half expecting him to yell back at her. A few other possibilities flashed through her mind, based off of Cody's habits and character.

But she never expected him to start laughing at her.

She couldn't believe it; her boyfriend was standing right in front of her chuckling under his breath. Her old emotions quickly gave way to fury. How dare he laugh at her!

"Courtney," he spoke up before she could verbally tear his head off. "One of us is a loser but it isn't you."

Anger gave way to confusion. What was he talking about?

"You think you failed, I did a lot more so than you. Which one of us got mauled by a bear? Which one of us got rejected by the person they liked on national television? Who got voted off because he was useless? Who got mocked and teased for what happened on the island, until he decided to switch schools to get away from it? It wasn't you Court, it was me. I'm the loser here"

Cody's voice started out light hearted but quickly grew somber with a deeper scornful undertone. He dropped his eyes to the ground; he didn't want the girl in front of her to know how much these memories hurt him. He tried to cover it up and act like nothing bothered him. But deep inside, he was dealing with years of rejection and ridicule. He tried to cover it up with humor, with the hope that tomorrow would be better.

But tomorrow never came, everyday was the same miserable present.

Courtney watched her boyfriend quietly and felt a growing guilt deep in the pit of her stomach. She knew that Cody was teased back at his old school, but she never imagined it was this bad. Cody listened to her problems, she never thought about the ones he might have been having.

"Cody," she started softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I never thought."

"I didn't want you to," he said, his voice shaking and speaking so quietly she had to strain to hear him. "You have your own problems, I can deal with mine."

Courtney didn't say anything; she just raised her hands and cupped her boyfriends face. She wasn't surprised to feel how moist it was.

Without a word she stepped forward and embraced her boyfriend. The problems she had come out here to deal with now seemed so petty and far away. Right now her attention was on what was important. The boy that was slowly getting her robe wet with tears, the boy that was shaking so hard he couldn't even hug her back.

The couple stood there in the crisp night air. One taking comfort in the other, just not in the way they expected.

* * *

After a while Courtney managed to guide Cody to the bench so they could sit down. Not releasing him even once, as she whispered assurances that it would be okay. So together they sat there, unaware of anything around them but each other.

But time waits for no man. And before they knew it the horizon began turning pink, an indication of the suns inevitable appearance.

Courtney watched it with a soft smile, her right hand idly stroking the hair of the boy with his head in her lap. After a while Cody had fallen asleep, so instead of waking him Courtney laid him out across the bench, his head resting in her lap.

She hadn't gotten any sleep that night. But for some reason she wasn't tired, or cranky like she usually was when she was woken up early for some reason.

As a matter of fact, she felt more at peace then she could recall in recent memory.

She was torn out of her thoughts when Cody began to stir, the light having grown bright enough to wake him from his fitful summer.

After a minute his eyes opened, taking in the scene in front of him. And the girl whose lap he was resting in.

Quickly rising to get out of the compromising position, and doing it quickly enough to make himself lightheaded. Courtney caught him before he could fall off the bench.

"I'm sorry," the young man got out, clearly embarrassed. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep like that."

The young woman only shook her head, brushing off his concerns and his apology.

Together they sat there holding each other. Taking in the sun as it slowly rose over the ocean, painting the sky and sea a variety of colors.

"It's beautiful." Courtney said, looking out past the dock.

"Yes, you are," Cody replied.

"That was corny."

"I meant every word."

The couple said nothing else, eventually they would have to go and face the world. But that could wait a little longer.

Right now they took strength from each other, and the promise of a new day that the sunset gave them.

* * *

Wow, that was a lot more angst than I ever saw myself writing. But here is my take on what happene. Cody has a lot of inner pain from being picked on. Pain he deals with by acting like a goof and a ladies man. Courtney suppresses her pain till it boils over into anger, but puts it aside to help the people important to her.

And next chapter, Courtney and Duncan see each other for the first time since the breakup. How does Cody take it, and what is Beth thinking? And how much of this will Chris show on television? Keep reading to find out. And please, leave a review to tell me what you think and critique where appropriate.


	5. Past Meets Present

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

I'm sorry that this chapter has taken so long. But what can I say, college, that's really all there is to it. But now that I'm out for the summer I should be able to get more writing done. I'm also going to go back and edit my earlier chapters. I'm not making any changes to the story, but it should read a little better. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it wasn't easy to write, but it was fun.

* * *

Chapter Five: Past Meets Present

Cody and Courtney weren't sure how long they spent on that park bench. The couple sat their embracing each other, the sun slowly rising over the horizon.

But as they say, all good things must come to an end. It wouldn't be long before the fragile peace the couple had gained was shattered. By Chris, the other former contestants, or some other random force that ruined moments like this.

As the sun steadily rose higher into the sky, Cody tried to gently extract himself from his girlfriends grasp. As much as he enjoyed holding her, he was getting hungry, and the bench was beginning to get uncomfortable.

At some point after he had woken up, Courtney had come to sit in his lap, her legs stretch out along the bench and her arms wrapped around his waist. After several unsuccessful attempts to get out of Courtney's grip, Cody resolved himself to waking her. Gently gripping her shoulder, he gave her a little shake.

"Courtney, it's time to get up now."

Mumbling something under her breath, Courtney subconsciously tightened her grip on her boyfriend. Not wanting to move from her comfortable position.

With a sigh, Cody shook her a little harder, and this time she stirred.

"What, huh?" Courtney muttered, now beginning to come to. Cody thought she looked rather adorable like this. Her haired was a little messed up and her eyes were mostly closed, her face scrunched up, much different from her normal, guarded expression or fake smile.

It didn't take Courtney long to finish waking up, she was use to getting up early. When she did, she stood up and stretched, working out the kinks in her back that the bench had given her. After a moment she turned back to her boyfriend, smiling.

"Good morning." She said, offering a hand to help him up.

"Morning," he said, accepting the hand.

"You want to go get some breakfast?"

"Sounds great, but first..."

Courtney looked confused at his reluctance. "What?"

"Well, don't you think we should get changed first?"

Courtney's eyes opened in alarm. After everything that had happened, she had forgotten she was wearing her robe over her nightwear.

She immediately excused herself, and ran back in the direction of her room, telling him to meet her at the breakfast buffet. Cody chuckled a little to himself; it was a little amusing how forgetful Courtney could be sometimes. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, so he was less embarrassed about what he was wearing. At a casual pace, he began the walk to his own room; he saw no reason to rush.

Courtney ended up circling around the building and entering a stairwell on the left side, in an attempt to avoid encountering anyone in her state of undress. She successfully made it to her room, then set about the task of preparing herself for the day ahead. She only had two days left here with the others; she wanted to make them count.

Courtney, like most girls, was willing to take time to make sure she looked presentable. So by the time she had selected her clothes, gotten dressed, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair, more than an hour had gone by.

She was also rather hungry by then, so she made for the resorts café at a swift pace. They had a breakfast buffet that lasted until noon; it was one of Courtney's favorite parts of the resort.

Courtney was halfway there, rounding a corner, when she nearly ran into someone. She opened her mouth to apologize, but the words stuck in her thought.

The figure in front of her didn't seem to have that problem.

"Long time no see, huh princess, how you doing?"

Courtney winced at the familiar insult, which had ended up becoming something of a pet name. But quickly gathered herself, there was no reason to show weakness. Not to him. So she forced a smile onto her face.

"I'm just fine, Duncan." She said, putting emphasis on the final word.

If it bothered Duncan to be referred to by his first name, he didn't let it show.

"That's good, though I was a little surprised to see you and the dork together. What's that all about?"

Courtney glared at the former inmate, a bit of anger overcoming the numb feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Do not call him that!" She said each word slowly and deliberately. "You have no right to say anything bad about him. As for what were doing together, I really don't see how it's any of your business."

"Just asking," he replied with a casual shrug. "Can you blame me for being a little surprised? You don't really seem to have a whole lot in common."

"I suppose I can't blame you for thinking that, given my taste in previous boyfriends."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Duncan asked with a scowl.

"Only that Cody has certain qualities you lack." Courtney replied, this time with a genuine smile.

"Yeah, like what?"

"Well, he treats me with respect for one. He cares about my opinion on things. He actually listens to me when I talk, rather then pretending to listen. Should I quit while you're behind?"

Duncan scowled, but then reverted to a more neutral expression. He had been in enough arguments to know when it was time to switch tactics.

"I suppose you have a point. Of course, he's also a wimp. But hey, whatever works for you."

"What is your problem?"

"What's yours? I came over here and tried to be polite, but you..."

Courtney cut him off. "When have you ever been polite to me? All you ever did was mock me, and push my buttons. You never put any real effort into our relationship. It was all just one big joke to you, wasn't it?"

Duncan stayed silent for a moment, and then realized that his ex was expecting a reply.

"Well excuse me for living! I just wanted to have a little fun with a hot girl. Did you think I was going to change, be more like you? You think the dork is taking your relationship seriously? Trust me; he doesn't have that many options."

Courtney took a moment to consider Duncan's biting words. This conversation had started out awkward and it was getting worse. Seeing him like this, it was like facing an old enemy.

"What I expected," Courtney said calmly. "Was someone who would take a relationship with me seriously, someone who honestly cared about me. Maybe I was wrong to have expected you to change, but that's all in the past. But I'm happy now. That's really all there is to it."

Duncan's expression had shifted several times over the course of the conversation, now he had his neutral expression in place again.

"If you say so," he said, in a tone that said he didn't really believe her.

But before she could say anything else he walked away.

Courtney watched him leave with some relief. Whatever excitement that Duncan had once brought into her life had faded. Now he just left her feeling annoyed and stressed out.

Not sure how much time had passed, Courtney hurried towards the cafe. She wasn't sure how long Cody had been waiting, but it would be rude to leave him waiting much longer.

* * *

Cody's morning, by comparison to his girlfriends, had gone well. He had taken his time walking to his room and changing into something more presentable. Once he had gotten dressed, he simply lied down on his bed for a few minutes. Having grown up with a mother and two sisters, he knew there was little chance of Courtney beating him to breakfast, so he didn't rush.

Once half an hour had passed, the tech geek decided to get going. He estimated that it would take him fifteen minutes to reach the restaurant, then another five to fifteen minutes for his girlfriend to arrive.

He was brought out of his musings when he bumped into someone. He relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Oh, sorry Beth, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's alright."

Beth had changed quit a bit since Total Drama Island. She was more determined than she had been before the show, trying out as many new things as possible. She had kept in touch with certain people after the show had ended, Cody included, and she had eventually worked up the nerve to ask him out.

He had accepted, to her immense relief.

He genuinely liked Beth. She was very kind and rather now that she had gotten rid of her braces. So they had gone to see a movie, and gone from there.

But after two months, Cody began to realize something. His relationship with Beth wasn't going anywhere. They went to movies, hung out, and spent time together. But it didn't feel any different than when he did it with his regular female friends. He assumed it would feel different when he did it with a girlfriend.

He had kept at it, not wanting to lose his first girlfriend over something he considered silly. But after two more weeks, he decided he should be honest with Beth. So he told her what he had been feeling. She had been upset at first, and he didn't blame her. But she got over it. They had remained friends and still hung out occasionally. Though there had been an undeniable awkward period.

It was a simple story, but it had been a simple relationship. There was no drama or passion, just an attempt to find something more.

Cody took a few minutes to speak with Beth and then excused himself. He didn't want to risk Courtney actually beating him to breakfast. Or was it lunch at this point? He wasn't really sure. Either way, he was really getting hungry.

The resorts breakfast buffet was, in Cody's humble opinion, one of the resorts nicer eateries. There were pancakes, waffles, sausage, bagels, toast, crumpets, and a few dozen other things available. Cody wasn't sure what everything was, but no one ever left unsatisfied.

But as hungry as he was, he wanted to wait for his girlfriend. It had been…actually he had lost track of time, but he doubted she would keep him waiting much longer.

It was only another ten minutes until Courtney joined him at his booth. As much trouble as the confrontation could have caused her, she was glad it had happened. Glad to have, in some way, closed that particular chapter of her life.

Cody was so lost in his inner dialogue, which consisted of many ways to declare hunger that he didn't notice seem to notice his girlfriends approach. She greeted his from the restaurant entrance and then again when she reached him, but he did not reply either time.

Dissatisfied with being ignored, the councilor in training snapped her fingers next to Cody's ear. This had the humorous result of Cody jumping into the air and landing sideways in the booth. Courtney laughed while the young man in front of her rushed to right himself, giving her an annoyed look while he did it.

Courtney only laughed harder at his look. Cody never failed to amuse her, even when he wasn't trying to be funny. With an apology she helped him back into his seat.

The next half hour passed in relative silence. The café was pretty quiet because the others had already passed through, and the couple was hungry enough to focus on their food rather than each other for the moment.

Once his hunger was properly alleviated Cody decided to talk to his girlfriend. He wanted to make sure she was doing all right after yesterday.

"So Courtney," Cody began cautiously, pushing his empty plate to one side. "How do you feel today?"

"I feel just fine."

"Better than yesterday?"

This time, Courtney paused before answering. "Yes."

"I'm glad," Cody said, sincerely.

Courtney smiled at him; Cody could actually appreciate the little moments like this. Maybe she was being a little unfair to Duncan, but she had given him more than a few chances.

"What do you want to do today?"

Courtney only looked at her boyfriend in confusion.

"I mean, we only have today and tomorrow until we have to go home. So if you want to spend it with your friends I understand. But I figured since tomorrow was Valentines Day we could do something."

Despite having a girlfriend, Cody was still a little unsure at times when it came to girls. He could act confident when he wanted to, but it was just a mask, he didn't really have the confidence that he tried to show others. He waited for the girl across from him to respond.

Courtney considered the question. On the one hand, she had a few good friends on the island that she didn't get to see very often. But on the other hand, this entire trip was about Valentines Day. Shouldn't she be spending more time with her boyfriend? They may have lived near each other, but the opportunity to do things as a couple didn't come up as often as one would think. And their time at the resort so far had been...less than spectacular.

So yes, she did want to spend more time with him.

"Did you have something in mind?"

Cody considered the question for a moment before shrugging. "Is there something you want to do?"

"As a matter of fact," Courtney began. "There are a couple of things I would like to do."

* * *

And there we go. Courtney and Duncan have met again, and maybe not for the last time. I'm sorry if the Beth and Cody portion was disappointing, but I honestly don't see them going after each other the way some of the other couples do. It was a simple relationship for a simple couple. Next time, Cody and Courtney get to spend some alone time together and we'll hear what some of other campers really think of the couple. I hope the encounter between both couples was realistic; I didn't want to make Duncan into a heartless jerk.

College finals are finally over, so I should have more free time to write. Or at least, that's my hope. I have other things to do, but I will never abandon my stories. As always, please leave a review telling me what you thought of the chapter, I appreciate the input.


	6. Romance and Pondering

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Finally, we have reached chapter six. I have to say, I'm impressed by the amount of feedback this story has gotten. Not to mention the reaction to the pairing itself. I didn't expect people to be quite so accepting of the couple. Just so everyone knows, when I post this chapter, I will also have updated the earlier chapters. There haven't been any changes to the plot, but I've improved on little things like grammar, so it should read a little better.

Moving right along though, this chapter is told from several different points of view, so it may take a line or two until you know who is speaking. I've tried to keep everyone in character. And just a reminder, Total Drama Action had not started when I began this story, and it still hasn't aired in America, so ignore any inconsistencies you notice from the season. Now it's time for us to find out what the other campers think of the odd couple. On with the show!

* * *

Chapter Six: Romance and Pondering

She had seen them walk in together. She had seen them hold hands and share a kiss. She had seen them together last night out by the pool before dinner had been sent out. And now she was watching them walk down to the pool together.

She had seen it, she just couldn't believe it.

Her friendship with Cody may have had its ups and downs, but she genuinely believed he was a decent person. She couldn't say the same about Courtney though.

The CIT had annoyed her since the first day when she refused to jump off the cliff. And her behavior and attitude since then had done little to change that image. Bossy, rude, manipulative, all in all, Courtney seemed like a slightly more tolerable version of Heather.

"Hey Gwen, you okay?"

Gwen looked at her concerned boyfriend and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about a few things."

The musician arched an eyebrow in response.

"What kind of things?"

Gwen froze for a moment, wondering how she was going to explain this. It really wasn't any of her business, and she knew her relationship with Trent wasn't what most people would call normal either. But something about the two being together just struck her as wrong.

Maybe Trent would know why she felt this way.

"Mainly about Cody and his new girlfriend, don't you think it's a little weird?"

"What, the two of them being together?"

"Well, yeah."

Trent took a minute to consider the question. Yes, he supposed, it was an odd couple. But the same could be said for the two of them, and some of the other couples on the island. Besides, Cody seemed happy, and Trent hadn't forgotten how he tried to get them together during Total Drama Island. The least he could do was be supportive.

"I guess it is a bit strange," Trent admitted. "But they seem to be happy together. I mean, what else really matters?"

"It's just," Gwen trailed off for a minute. "I don't want to think that Courtney is just using him or something."

"Using him for what?"

"I don't know, to get back at Duncan, so she wouldn't have to show up without a date, maybe he has something she wants."

"That seems," Trent hesitated for a moment, "a little paranoid."

"Maybe, but I still don't like it. During the suitcase hunt she threatened to throw him and the others out of the balloon if they didn't give her the case."

Trent paused for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to respond to that statement. But nothing really came to mind. So he decided to do the next best thing and change the subject.

"You know," Trent began with a smirk. "I got you a gift for Valentines Day."

That got Gwen's attention. "Really, you didn't have to."

"I know," Trent assured her. "But I wanted too."

So the topic of the new couple passed over the musician and his girlfriend. But they weren't the only ones talking about them.

* * *

Geoff and his girlfriend were back in the hot tub, but they weren't making out for once. Instead, they were talking about random things, and eventually, the subject of Courtney's new boyfriend had come up.

"I still can't believe she and Duncan split up," Geoff admitted. "I mean, they seemed good for each other."

"I suppose at first," Bridgette agreed reluctantly. "But some people just don't work out."

Though she would never say it to her boyfriend, she was glad that Courtney and Duncan were no longer together. She had never been very fond of the punk, and felt that he was a bad influence on Courtney. She wasn't the type to hold a grudge, but she hadn't totally forgiven him for organizing her and Geoff to be voted off.

"And maybe she and Cody will do better." Bridgette said, with more confidence than she had before. "He seems like a nice enough guy, and maybe that's what Courtney needs." It was an honest answer, Bridgette didn't know Cody very well, but she didn't have anything bad to say about him either.

Geoff looked his girlfriend for a few moments, and Bridgette could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

Finally, he spoke. "You really don't like Duncan, do you?"

Bridgette looked away with a sigh; this was an awkward topic for the two of them. Geoff knew that Bridgette didn't like Duncan, but he still considered him one of his friends, Bridgette didn't believe Duncan was a real friend. Neither of them had ever managed to convince the other.

"He's really mean," Bridgette began. "And it seems like he's dragging everyone around him down too."

She cut off her boyfriend before he could offer a rebuttal. "But let's not worry about them right now, were here on vacation after all."

With that, the couple resumed making out. For that moment, all thoughts of their friends left their minds; all that mattered was each other.

* * *

Courtney was excited when she dragged her boyfriend out of the restaurant. Due to certain circumstances that she preferred not to dwell on, she wasn't able to take full advantage of the resort the first time she was here, but that was all about to change. She and Cody were going to try out everything the resort had to offer.

First on her list was the pool. For all the time that she had spent lounging around it, she only went for a swim once, and it was ruined when Harold tried to do the same thing.

But none of that mattered now, she was going to have a good time and nothing was going to get in her way.

She had quickly gone and gotten changed into her gray two-piece suit that she had brought on her first trip to camp Wawanakwa. She had drawn her hair back into a short ponytail so that it wouldn't get in her eyes when she swam. There was a covered section near the end of the pool that had towels and sunscreen, so she didn't concern herself with that. Cody was waiting for her in a simple blue pair of swim trunks.

Cody watched Courtney's approach with a wide smile. He had enough tact not to say it out loud, but she looked hot in a bikini, and he liked seeing her with her hair pulled back.

Courtney approached the pool with a spring in her step. Swimming was one of the more relaxing things she had been taught to do, even when she was teaching younger kids in camp, being in the water put her at ease.

She also had a soft spot for diving. Another thing she had learned as a camp councilor. The high dive was something that gave her quite a thrill, this board wasn't as high up as some of the others she had used, but it would still be nice.

Cody watched her climb up with a confused expression, he wasn't aware that she dived; it seemed a little too risky for Courtney's cautious nature. He had always been somewhat intimidated by heights. But watching her stand on the board and prepare to jump, he wandered if Courtney would be willing to teach him too.

Courtney watched the pool spread out before her, her height allowed a bird's eye view of the resort. This was nothing like the cliff diving challenge, where they fell a thousand feet then got eaten by sharks if they missed the safe zone. Sharks had always terrified her, ever since she saw the movie jaws as a child; she had never been very fond of beaches either.

But she never had any trouble with pools; they were a safer, more controlled environment. With that in mind, she got herself into position.

Cody watched her silently from the side of the pool. He had never seen someone dive like this before, and he nervously wondered if the water was really deep enough for something like this. His girlfriend jumped, and time stood still, then the moment passed and Courtney lanced gracefully into the water.

Courtney rose out of the water to her boyfriend's applause. The CIT smiled at him as he approached the edge of the pool, more than a little impressed by the display.

"Where did you learn to do that?" He asked her when she came to meet him at the edge of the pool.

"My first summer as a CIT, one of the older counselors use to be a professional diver so he taught some of us."

"That was incredible," he told her sincerely. Courtney blushed slightly at the high praise; it really hadn't been that impressive.

"Do you think you could teach me?"

Courtney considered the question for a moment. "Sure, but you should probably get in the water first."

She didn't even have time to get out of the way before his abrupt entrance splashed her with a fresh wave of cold water.

Cody smiled sheepishly at his girlfriends annoyed expression, but she smiled after a moment as well, and then began to inform him on the basics of diving.

It was a wonder that the couple didn't know just how many people were gossiping about them.

Of course, some had a more personal stake in the new relationship.

* * *

Beth had watched the two with mixed feelings. She was happy for them, she really was. But a small part of her wished that she and Cody were the ones who walking in together.

She had been disappointed when their short relationship had abruptly ended, and a bit hurt, but she understood why Cody did it, though it would be generous to say that she was in any way happy about it.

Still, she didn't hold it against him. And while she had certainly never considered him and Courtney compatible, she decided to be happy for them. After all, Courtney had never been rude to her before, and she and Cody got together well after they had broken up, so there was really no reason for her to be upset.

No, if she was jealous it wasn't because Courtney had Cody, it was because they had each other.

Still, she mused to herself as she watched Justin lounge around the pool, soaking up the sun, there was no telling what tomorrow would hold.

Valentines Day was the holiday of love, after all.

* * *

_A real beauty and the geek theme_, Duncan thought to himself, laying in front of one of the hotels large televisions.

But his attention wasn't focused on the program. No, his thoughts were focused on Courtney and their little debate a while ago. Not to mention the little scene they had made at the pool just a little while ago.

_She does fill out the suit better than she did last year._ Duncan thought to himself with a smirk. Courtney had always been a pleasant sight, now even more so than last year.

Courtney, damn that girl frustrated him! If it wasn't one thing it was another. Do this, don't do that, put that back before you get caught. It just seemed to go on and on.

As for Cody, well, he didn't have much of an opinion of the dork. They had been on separate teams and had never really interacted. The only prominent memory he had of the guy was when he had been mauled by the bear and placed in a wheelchair.

And now he was dating Courtney.

He didn't get it, he honestly didn't. How could those two end up together? Courtney had never mentioned him while they were dating. Though to be fair, talking hadn't been a major factor in their relationship. But he was sure he would have known if they had been speaking to each other or something.

He wasn't jealous. Not of the overly controlling CIT and her nerdy boyfriend. That was not a couple worth getting jealous about.

These thoughts continued to pester him while he flipped through the channels, growing steadily more agitated.

* * *

Harold was lost in thought, which in and of itself wasn't so odd. But that fact that Leshawna was speaking to him made it rather odd, especially considering how respectful Harold normally was of his girlfriend.

Of course, the confrontation with Courtney the night before was the cause.

He had expected her to still be upset with him. But he had held a little hope that Courtney would have let go of the past and forgive him.

He admitted to himself that she was somewhat justified in her rage. It hadn't been right to vote her off just so that he could spite Duncan. That went against nearly everything that he had been raised to believe. But he let his anger get the better of him and voted her off.

Still, she had been a bit calmer when she had seen him last night. And nothing had been thrown at him, so that was an improvement.

Was that a result of time passing, or her new relationship with Cody? He had no idea, but he was leaning towards the later.

Maybe he should talk to Cody, he he might be able to convince Courtney to let him apologize.

Harold's mussing was interrupted when Leshawna realized she was being ignored and smacked him over the head.

"Hey, sweetie, you okay in there?"

"Yeah, sorry honey, I'm just thinking about something."

"Bout what?" The city girl inquired curiously.

By the time Harold finished outlying his plan, Leshawna was scowling at him. Something that intimidated most people that she knew.

"You do not owe that girl an apology. Understand!"

And in Leshawna's mind, he didn't. That skinny little white girl had brought in on herself. If she hadn't been so self absorbed, she might have been able to actually get her team to work together. After everything she and her jail bait boyfriend had put Harold through, he owed her nothing.

Her opinion of Duncan was even lower, the delinquent seemed to go out of his way to make everyone around him as miserable as possible. As if the simmer hadn't been bad enough with that stupid competition.

As for Cody, well, she supposed he was alright. He had done her girl Gwen and Trent a favor, so he didn't seem like a bad guy, and he certainly didn't deserve a girlfriend like Courtney. That wasn't going to lead anywhere but grief for the poor kid.

Maybe she would talk to him later, then she could find out exactly what he was thinking.

* * *

Wow, this has taken a while. Sorry, but I am in desperate need of a job and I don't half nearly as much free time as I'd like until I find one. Oh well, this chapter turned out fairly well, in my opinion at least. A little more anti Courtney than I really intended, but it just worked out that way somehow. I tried to include all the major couples who had relevant opinions and the new couples former partners. I hope that I managed to keep everyone in character.

So, please, leave a review, and tell me what you thought. What you liked, what you disliked and anything else you would like me to know. And just encase anyone missed the earlier message, I have gone through and redone the earlier chapters. No plot changes, just some grammar and spelling upgrades. Tell me what you think of those too.


	7. Simplicity Itself

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Now that I think about it, I seem to spend more time working on this story than I do on my others. Maybe it's because I want to finish something so that I can work on the rest of my stories with less distraction. Sorry about the wait again, but I had a lot of things to do and then got sick.

Whatever it is, and whatever the delay, here is the latest installment in this story. This chapter will also jump around a bit and look at the perspectives of different people. So expect to see a few more opinions. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Seven: Simplicity Itself

Cody and Courtney continued with their date, blissfully unaware of the many people talking about their relationship. Which was probably for the best, it would have been an unnecessary complication to an otherwise peaceful day.

After their impromptu diving lesson, which ended after more than two hours of Courtney instructing Cody on proper diving techniques, they were trying to decide what to do next.

Cody wanted to go inside and find something to do. He was somewhat less physically inclined than his girlfriend, so he would rather relax in front of the television or do something else in the air conditioning after spending so much time in the sun exerting himself.

Courtney, on the other hand, wanted to go for a nature walk. The resort that the former and future contestants were staying at wasn't just one large building. Amongst other things, there was also a small forest that took up most of the southern half of the island. The CIT believed that a nature walk would be a nice way to unwind after those lessons in the pool.

So the two sat in the shade near the pool, drying off and debating what they should do next. Cody knew he was fighting a losing battle, Courtney could be both stubborn and convincing when she wanted to be, so it was only a matter of time before he gave into her wishes for one reason or another.

Still, there was no real downside to spending time with his hot girlfriend.

* * *

Noah, who had been seated in the shade nearby reading a book, unwillingly overheard there discussion as their words drifted over to his ears. The young prodigy rolled his eyes when he sensed that Cody was ready to throw in the towel on the debate.

Cody and Courtney, he hadn't seen that one coming, though it didn't really matter to him one way or another why they were together. From a certain perspective it could possibly work.

Cody was probably the closest friend he had on this show, and was one of the few people he could tolerate for any real amount of time. Courtney, not so much, he respected her intelligence but didn't know her as well as he did Cody. He hadn't been all that surprised that she and the delinquent had fallen through; he just never thought that these two would hook up.

Noah gave subtle reactions over the course of the conversation. Rolling his eyes when the two seemed to subconsciously flirt with one another and wincing when he felt Cody beginning to give into his girlfriends pleading, this was a cliché amongst clichés.

_I hope you two know what you're doing,_ he thought to himself. _Relationships don't tend to run smoothly, and the world off of the show probably won't be as supportive now that people will know you're together._

From a logical standpoint, they could work out or go horribly wrong, just like any other couple. They were both very intelligent in their own way; Cody was a technical genius while Courtney was politically intelligent. Their personalities complimented one another, and they could be good for each other. Of course, this was ignoring all of the reasons such a relationship could crash and burn. Cody and Courtney both had their own fan bases, and who knew how they would react to the hookup. Logically, that would be an issue in the future.

_But what does logic have to do with love?_ He thought as he let his eyes wander over to where Katie and Sadie were sitting, his gaze lingered on the former for a few seconds before he glanced back to his book. There was really no way to see how things would go from here.

Only time would tell.

* * *

True to Cody's prediction, they did end up going on the nature walk as Courtney had wanted. But his girlfriend agreed that they would relax in front of the television for a little while afterwards.

After taking a few moments to change back into their normal attire, the two were walking through the resort and down the trail that led into the woods. Courtney was slightly in front of her boyfriend, quietly soaking up the atmosphere that nature seemed to create so easily. Cody was less at ease, but he was able to appreciate the scenery in his own way.

More than fifteen minutes of walking had taken the couple to the southern most part of the small island. The forest stopped a few yards away and allowed a small beach to form along the shoreline.

Courtney walked away from the path and onto the sand, stopping just short of where the waves were coming in. After a stopping to take in the view, Courtney walked over to a series of large rocks that seemed to have naturally become smooth under years of nature's power. The CIT raised herself up onto one of the higher rocks and placed her feet on a slightly lower stone, which allowed her to comfortably hug her legs to her chest.

Cody watched her from a few feet away, and then reached into his pocket to take out his phone. _This is definitely worthy of a picture_, he thought as he lined up the small camera in his phone. Courtney was gazing out into the water with a smile, and didn't even seem to notice that her boyfriend had just taken her picture. She turned to look at him as Cody pocketed the phone. He smiled back at her and remembered the short conversation that he and Beth had shared that morning.

* * *

"So how have you been? I haven't seen you since you moved." The brunette across from him asked eagerly.

"All right I guess," Cody replied with a shrug. "My new school is better than the one I used to go too, not a lot of major changes though."

"So dating Courtney isn't a major change in your book?" Beth asked him with a knowing smile.

"You noticed that huh?" Cody asked, somewhat embarrassed by the question.

"I don't think there's anyone here who didn't notice you two walk in together." The farm girl said, in an uncharacteristically matter of fact tone.

Cody rubbed the back of his neck in response; he hadn't thought that they would have made that big an impression.

"I was a little confused when you two came in like that," Beth confessed with a shrug. "I knew you were friends, but not that you were dating."

"That only started about two months ago."

"Oh, I see"

A length of silence gripped the two; the conversation had just taken a decidedly awkward turn. Something that talking about your current girlfriend with your ex seemed to cause.

"Actually, I need to go meet Courtney for breakfast now." Cody said, pointing in the general direction of the buffet.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hold you up."

"No problem, I'll see you later Beth."

Cody had passed Beth and began walking down the hall when she called out to him again. Cody stopped and turned back to her.

"Are you," Beth hesitated for a few moments before she finished her question. "Are you really happy with Courtney?"

Cody blinked, and seemed to seriously consider the question for a few seconds before he answered her with a smile.

"Yes," he said confidently. "Yes I am."

Beth smiled back at him. "I'm glad," he could hear the sincerity in the girls tone.

The two stayed like this for a short moment before Cody continued onto the buffet.

It would be rude of him to keep his girlfriend waiting.

* * *

Cody shook his head after the flashback ended. He was glad that Beth had taken the fact that he and Courtney were dating so well. He counted her as a real friend, and he didn't want to lose that.

After walking along the sandy shoreline for a few minutes, Cody went to sit next to his girlfriend on the rock, placing himself so they were both comfortable on the warm stone.

* * *

DJ watched from a few yards away in the tree line. He had been going for a walk with bunny when he had seen his former teammate and friend walking through the forest together. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, so he didn't do anything to disturb them.

He had been surprised as everyone when he found out that they were together, and a small part of him had hoped that she and Duncan would get back together.

There didn't seem to be any chance of that happening though.

_They do make a cute couple,_ he thought to himself as Cody went to join his girlfriend on the rock.

He knew Courtney pretty well from the time they spent on the same team back during season one. She was nice when she wanted to be, though she could be rather overbearing at times. And he and Cody had partnered up during the suitcase hunt right after Owen won the race against Gwen. The tech geek had tried to keep their team together after they found the suitcase, and he didn't hold him responsible for the trouble the ropes had caused later on.

Now that he thought about it though, it was a little odd that Cody had hooked up with Courtney, especially after she had threatened to drop them during the race.

He didn't seriously think that Courtney would have let them fall to their deaths. But the CIT could be very competitive when she wanted to be!

After bunny began shifting around in DJ's hand, the gentle teen softly pet his small friend and offered him a peace of lettuce while he walked away, leaving the couple their privacy.

* * *

Courtney and her boyfriend sat there together for a few minutes, the ocean was an equally impressive sight from the small beach as it was from the dock on the northern part of the island.

The two shared a lighthearted conversation while they were sitting there. Wondering what surprises Chris would have in store for them once season three began the coming summer, and other random topics before they decided to start walking back towards the resort.

Their conversation continued once they were back amongst the trees, nature seemed to create a backdrop to their conversation as they walked. The singing birds, the twittering of small animals, it all seemed to create a melody that lacked any real tune.

But neither of the two felt that it really needed one, and they were content with it until they reached the resorts main building again. By that time, Cody had worked up a sweat and even Courtney felt like taking a short breather.

So they did what Cody had proposed earlier, and went to relax in the resorts main television room. Courtney left the room after a few minutes to get them something to drink while Cody settled himself on the couch. He wandered where everyone else was for a few seconds, and then simply shrugged it off.

Harold walked in only a few moments later, but paused when he saw Cody by himself on the couch. The nerd briefly considered talking to Cody now when he the chance, and weighed it against the risk of Courtney finding him and going supernova on him.

Though Cody had shown the uncanny ability to calm down the CIT, something he had previously thought impossible.

Cautiously, Harold walked over to Cody, who was distractedly looking through the big screen televisions channels.

"Hey, dude, how's it going?"

Cody stopped channel surfing to look at Harold. He was surprised to see that he was talking to him, but not unpleasantly so.

"No bad, how goes it with you?"

"It goes well; Leshawna and I really love this place." Harold said with a happy smile.

Cody noticed that, and the lack of a former teammate of his.

"Where is Leshawna anyhow?"

"With Gwen and Bridgette I think. She said that she and her girls needed their space."

Realizing he was getting off track, Harold decided to cut to the point.

"Listen Cody, do you think that Courtney is still mad at me?"

Cody hesitated before answering. The correct answer was a resounding yes! But he didn't want to be that blunt.

Harold seemed to understand exactly what his silence meant though, and sighed out loud. Not that he had expected this to be easy, but he hoped for something better than a worse case scenario.

"All right then. Listen, can you pass on a message to Courtney for me?" Harold continued without waiting for an answer. "Tell her that I'm really sorry for what I did the first season! It wasn't fair to vote her off just to get back at Duncan. I'm also sorry that she got voted off again during TDA. But I didn't vote for her then, I swear!"

"Dude," Cody interrupted Harold's rant. "It's cool, I'm not mad at you, but Courtney kind of is."

"Only kind of mad?" Harold asked lightly.

Cody didn't answer again, because he knew she was more than kind of mad, but she was working on it. Before he could respond though, he saw Harold tense up and stare at something over his shoulder.

He had a bad feeling that he knew why too.

With deliberate slowness, Cody turned around to face the doorway. And true to his luck, Courtney was standing there in the doorway, tightly clenching two bottled water that seemed on the verge of exploding. The look on her face screamed bloody murder.

Cody briefly wondered if he was going to survive long enough to make it to Valentines Day.

* * *

Well that chapter gave me a lot of trouble, but I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I expect my virtual combat story to be the next one I update, so be on the lookout for that. And please leave a review, tell me what you liked, disliked, and anything else you care to point out because I want to improve.


	8. Not So Simple Anymore

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Not much to say this time, but I only have about three weeks until college starts again; I'll have to wait and see how that affects my update speed. Now enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Not So Simple Anymore

Cody's first instinct was to scream and run away. After taking a few seconds to suppress that instinct, he tried to find something more productive to do.

"Courtney, long time no see."

Or would have, if Harold hadn't decided to say something first.

While not an expert on body language, Cody was pretty sure Courtney was half a step from running over and throttling the nerd standing behind him, even though her face was fairly calm. The fact that he was standing between the two was probably the only thing dissuading her at the moment.

Not that she seemed all that happy with him at the moment.

Without saying anything Courtney took a step forward, and Harold took an involuntary step back. Courtney took another, so did Harold, this bizarre dance continued with the CIT trying to get closer to Harold, while the nerd kept her away by keeping her boyfriend in between the two of them.

To people that weren't involved in the strange dance; the situation must have seemed hilarious.

After Courtney began to pick up the pace Cody tried to head off the violence by grabbing his girlfriends arm. He shuddered at the look she gave him, but he had a chance to end this rivalry and he wasn't going to back down now.

"Courtney," he started, trying to guide his girlfriend to the far side of the room. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Why were you talking to him?" Courtney demanded, her eyes narrowed into slits, but she allowed him to escort her away from Harold.

"Because he wants to apologize to you," Cody said with as much force as he dared.

"Well I don't want to talk to him!" Courtney insisted stubbornly.

"I know, but remember the conversation we had yesterday, don't you want to be able to put this behind you?"

Courtney didn't say anything; she wasn't sure what to say. Of course she wanted to end this, but not like this, not now.

She just wasn't sure how to tell him that without seeming stubborn.

Harold chose that moment to step in. Courtney seemed as calm as the situation would allow, and he had to apologize, the guilt was eating him alive.

He got their attention by clearing his throat, but couldn't find the nerve to look Courtney in the eye. Instead he focused on his sneakers while he spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, then seemed to find the courage to lift his eyes off of the floor.

"I'm sorry for cheating to get you voted off, it was wrong of me to vote you off just to get back at your boyfriend for the way he and the others were treating me. And I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help you when we were on season two together." He stopped here to take another breath.

"And most of all," Harold finally looked Courtney in the eye. "I'm sorry it took me this long to apologize."

Courtney kept her hard gaze on Harold. At first she had wanted to throttle the nerd, but what Cody said to her made a lot of sense, she did want this to end. So she listened to him apologize to her, not even bothering to correct him when he called Duncan her boyfriend, and stayed silent for a few moments after he finished.

Drawing in a shuddering breath, Courtney started to respond.

"What you did caused me a lot of trouble you know and I'm not just talking about on the show."

Harold looked down in shame as Courtney continued.

"The way people treated me, either they were judging me because of what you did or they pitied me. I can't stand pity!"

Courtney barely resisted the urge to start screaming, Cody tried to place his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off before continuing.

"I can't fairly blame you for what happened on season two; I dug my own grave there. Besides, it was a competition; I wasn't expecting anyone to help me."

Courtney steeled herself for what she had to say next.

"I forgive you," Harold looked at her in surprise. "I forgive you for voting me off, I really shouldn't have let Duncan and those idiots carry on the way they did, we were supposed to be a team. But I'm not going to forget what you did, either!"

Courtney turned away from him.

"So just give me some space, alright."

Harold nodded, he was too pleased that she had forgiven him to try and press the situation, so he left.

Cody watched with a small degree of shock. He honestly hadn't expected the situation to be resolved so easily, or without bloodshed. But he was impressed with the level of maturity Courtney had shown, even as he watched her sigh and flop onto the couch. The confrontation had drained her, though not nearly as badly as the earlier one.

"You okay, Courtney?"

The look she gave him said. 'What do you think?'

"Sorry, standard question."

Courtney only sighed again as Cody went to sit next to her, stopping briefly to pick up the two bottled waters that she had dropped. Unsure of exactly what he should do, Cody settled for placing one of his arms around her shoulders in a loose hug. Courtney leaned into the embrace, staring at the television in a sort of trance.

"That went pretty well, didn't it?" Cody offered offhandedly.

"Yup," Courtney agreed, too out of it to focus on the conversation.

Cody considered how to get his girlfriends attention for a few moments before inspiration hit him.

"You look pretty hot when you're mad too."

Courtney flushed at the sudden comment, but that didn't stop her from lightly smacking the back of his head.

"Pervert!"

"Just trying to get your attention...it's true though."

That got him another smack around the head, and a small smile.

"So now what do you want to do?" Cody asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Courtney looked around the room for a few seconds before turning off the big screen television. She didn't really feel like watching television right now. She saw Cody looking at her expectantly, and glanced at the clock on the cable box, it was just a little past eleven, a bit early but...

"Want to get some lunch?"

"Sure," Cody agreed then got a sly look on his face. "Maybe we could get some chocolate."

Courtney moaned and buried her face in her hands.

"What, I liked happy Courtney."

Cody smiled, remembering the indecent that he dubbed, happy Courtney.

* * *

It had been just a week before their first date, though neither of them knew it at the time. Courtney's parents had gone to visit an aunt of hers outside the city, and rather than leave her alone overnight, they asked her to find a friend to stay with for the night.

Cody hadn't been her first choice, for obvious reasons. But after several negative replies and two last minute cancellations that was exactly where she had ended up.

After arriving and thanking his parents, Courtney had declined something to eat and went to the guest room to relax. She stayed there for the next several hours, trying not to get in the way of the people who were taking her in, even though it was only for the night.

Cody had given her the space she wanted, honestly a bit disappointed that they couldn't hang out, though he supposed that doing that with his parents around would have been a bit awkward.

A little after ten, about three hours after Courtney had arrived at his house, he had finished his desert and his parents had just turned in for the night. He was rinsing out his bowl in the sink when a thought hit him. Courtney hadn't had any desert! That was rude of him, especially since she was his guest.

With that thought in mind, Cody grabbed a clean bowel and filled it with chocolate ice cream. Then to top it off, he added chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Once the sugary concoction was finished, Cody grabbed a large napkin and spoon before heading to the guest room.

Once he was in front of the door, Cody reached out for the doorknob. But mentally caught himself, he didn't want to walk in on Courtney if she was changing or something. So instead, he knocked twice on the door.

His guest responded fairly quickly, opening the door for him.

"Hello, Cody, what is it?"

"I brought you this." The brunet exclaimed, raising the bowel of sugar. "I know you didn't have any desert so I brought you this."

Courtney looked at him awkwardly for a moment; she seemed to be looking for a way to decline the treat without being rude.

"Thank you...but I'm still full from dinner."

It was a fair argument, or would have been if her stomach hadn't growled at that particular moment.

"Please, Courtney, I promise, it's delicious!" Cody begged, trying to look as innocent as possible at the same time.

After several agonizing seconds, Courtney sighed and reached out for the teeth rotting concoction her friend was forcing on her. With a victorious look Cody handed it to her, and then hurried off to bed.

While he was changing Cody wandered why Courtney seemed to be so reluctant to have any kind of sugar. Was she afraid of gaining weight or something? He hoped it wasn't one of those insane diets some girls put themselves through.

He shook off the thought. Courtney was too smart to do something that stupid.

Dropping the thought from his mind entirely, Cody closed his eyes and let himself drift off.

He hadn't been out very long when a sudden shift of the bed woke him up again. Jerking up, Cody fumbled for the switch on the lamp next to his bed; in his shocked state of mind he actually thought he heard giggling.

Once the switch was found and Cody gave his eyes a few seconds to adjust, he saw what was on his bed.

And incidentally, there had been giggling.

Courtney was sitting on the edge of his bed, rocking back and forth quickly. She had a too large smile on her face and was quietly giggling to herself.

Cody looked at her for a moment then blinked, she was still there when opened his eyes again. Repeating the experiment yielded the same results.

There was only one logical conclusion, Courtney was in his room.

Courtney, who had been watching Cody open and close his eyes, suddenly burst into another fit of giggles. Though Cody didn't know what he had done that was so funny, he felt his face heat up.

"Courtney...what are you doing in here?"

Courtney finally stopped giggling, though she was still rocking herself back and forth.

"I couldn't sleep," Courtney said, bouncing on the bed now. "I keep thinking."

"About what?" Cody decided that he should deal with whatever Courtney wanted before he tried to get back to sleep.

Courtney didn't answer immediately. Though she did stop moving for what may have been the first time since she entered the room. Then she let out a sequel that would have made Sadie or Katie proud and fell off the bed with a surprised gasp, then started laughing again.

Cody watched the brunette girl roll around the floor while she tried to keep herself from suffocating in her own laughter.

He wandered what event had caused his friend to snap, and if there was anything that could be done to reverse it.

"I'm not supposed to have sugar!" Courtney finally managed to get out.

"What?" Cody asked, confused, which seemed to be the trend tonight.

"I'm not allowed to have sweets," Courtney got up and sat next to him on the bed. "My parents say that they make me really hyper, so I'm not supposed to have them."

The relevance of this didn't hit him, until he remembered the bowel of chocolate ice cream that he had delivered to Courtney a short while ago.

One with chocolate syrup and whipped cream…

Not good.

"Umm, Courtney," Cody began tentatively. "Maybe you should go back to your room."

Courtney pouted something rather out of character for the normally restrained young woman.

"But I can't sleep." Her tone was pleading, on the verge of whining.

Sighing, Cody decided to try and work out Courtney's excess energy before she woke up his parents.

After all, it couldn't take too long to burn through a sugar rush. Right!

* * *

It took almost three hours before Courtney began to come down from her sugar high. And they had been three very long hours at that. Courtney didn't seem capable of staying still for more than a few seconds unless she was doing something, and keeping her from waking up his parents had taken an almost inhuman effort. Thankfully their bedroom was on the other side of the house.

His bedroom, which he normally kept fairly neat, was a wreck. His clothes were all over the floor, a result of Courtney looking through his drawers.

His video games were scattered around the floor, he had been able to distract her briefly with each one. But because he had to mute the television to avoid waking his parents, and because Courtney didn't seem able to focus on one thing for more than a few minutes, none of them had held her attention for very long.

But she finally seemed to be winding down, and was sitting down for the first time without bouncing. And she was casually looking through the nightstand next to his bed. It held game manuals, receipts from recently purchased items, with the exception of the final drawer, that held something slightly more...personal.

And Courtney was reaching for it.

Cody was actually ashamed that he had taken so long to notice that, but he still had a chance to stop her!

"No!" The brunet cried out, wincing at the volume of his yell, though it did serve to distract Courtney. "You don't want to look in there, Courtney!"

Courtney looked back at her friend oddly. As though he was the one being weird! Then a look of comprehension seemed to dawn on her face.

"I understand," Cody panicked at that. "You have a dirty magazine in there! Don't you?"

Not waiting for a response, Courtney opened the drawer. Just as she was reaching inside she felt something collide with her right side and force her to the ground.

Cody, in an act of desperation, had launched himself off of his bed at Courtney. Courtney was so caught off guard that she was actually brought to the ground, though that left him with the task of keeping the temporary hyper girl away from his little secret.

Unfortunately, less than a minute later he was pinned under Courtney while she reached into the drawer with her free hand. Cody, unable to struggle out of her grip, tried to reason with her.

"Courtney," the girl on top of him didn't stop, but she did make a noise to indicate that she was listening. "What's in there is very personal. Please, please, please don't look!"

Courtney's hand stopped just over the drawer, and her eyes seemed to glance between his pleading expression and the mysterious drawer.

With an annoyed huff, Courtney pushed the drawer shut. She could live without knowing what was in there. Besides, she was beginning to get sleepy. But before she went to sleep, there was one last thing she had to do.

Cody sighed in relief, and then started to wonder why Courtney wasn't getting off of him. The fact that a teenage girl was straddling his stomach suddenly sank in and he began to blush. Courtney started to giggle again, which just made him blush harder.

"You know, Star thinks you're cute."

Cody blinked in confusion, he had expected Courtney to tease him and call him a pervert, not bring up a friend of hers.

"What?"

"You know, Star! The top heavy blond girl on the debate team, she told me she thinks you're cute."

Cody contemplated that while Courtney drew close to him.

"She's right though, you are cute."

Then Courtney closed the distance between their lips and kissed him. Cody stared wide eyed at her closed ones, then gave in and began to kiss her back. After half a minute of that, Courtney drew away and placed her head in the crock of his neck with a content sigh.

Cody stayed like that for nearly three minutes before he realized that she had fallen asleep, and then began the arduous task of getting out from under her and placing her on his bed.

He was too smart to say anything later, but she was heavy.

After another twenty minutes, Courtney was sleeping soundly in his bed and he was headed off to sleep in the guest room.

On the way out he paused briefly and reached into the drawer he had struggled to keep Courtney out of and examined its contents. After a few seconds he closed the drawer, and then glanced back at Courtney's sleeping form.

Maybe someday.

* * *

Fortunately, neither of his parents seemed to notice that he and Courtney had switched rooms in the middle of the night. They both left for work early that morning while Courtney rushed through a breakfast his mother had prepared for them before running home.

When Cody brought it up at school later, Courtney had begged, whined, threatened, and pretty much everything else for him to keep her behavior a secret.

He promised not to tell anyone. Though he was more than a little grateful it had happened. If it hadn't, he might not have found the courage to ask her out.

Not that it stopped him from teasing her occasionally when they were in private.

He also wandered how happy Courtney, as he had taken to calling her hyper state, would act around him now that they were a couple.

Courtney only groaned as she covered her face with her hands. Cody would never let her live that down, she knew she shouldn't have eaten the sundae but it was such a rare treat for her...

She had never found out what was in that drawer, either.

* * *

And that is chapter eight of my first romance based story. But before everyone starts saying how out of character Courtney was, I just want to bring up her behavior after she and Duncan raided Chef's fridge, I personally believe that a sugar rush can be partially responsible for her behavior.

And the image of Courtney on a sugar rush just leads to so many possibilities. But I see her free side as something akin to Duncan's tender side. It's there if you know what to look for, but it's very rare.

Now please, leave me a review and tell me what you think of my latest chapter. I'm always interested in hearing you comments and other things you think of my work. Also, if anyone is interested, my next update will be for Total Drama Virtual Combat, and should follow this chapter within a few days.


	9. What Makes a Date?

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Hopefully this update will make up for the length of time it took to post. I've noticed this story got quite a bit of attention while I was gone though, hopefully this means this chapter will be a record breaking hit. Also, this chapter will introduce another fanon couple that certain fans are bound to recognize.

* * *

Chapter Nine: What Makes a Date?

Lunch at the resort wasn't quite as extravagant an affair as the buffet that was served for breakfast, but the café offered a nice variety of food and it was all well made. Much better than the garbage that Chef had forced on them. Everyone knew that he could cook, he just messed it up to make them all miserable, something Courtney pointed out when they sat down to eat in a corner booth.

"Well if there's any justice in this world, Chef doesn't have a date tomorrow." Cody replied, flipping open the small menu out of habit, he already knew what they had.

Courtney giggled slightly to herself; the thought of Chef going on a date was absurd.

But who knew if the man was even interested in girls, he was dressed in a skirt or apron more often than not.

_Eww, don't go their Courtney!_ The CIT told herself mentally, the mental images would ruin her appetite if she got into them.

"You okay Courtney?"

"Fine, just a particularly sick train of thought," Courtney replied in a tone that said not to pursue the subject.

Cody looked at her for a moment. "Okay then, what do you want to order?"

"A club sandwich I suppose," the brunette looked up at her boyfriend. "What are you thinking?

"Hamburger and some fries I think."

"Bridgette's not going to like you if you keep eating like that you know." Courtney's tone was matter-of-fact, but Cody knew there was more too it. And he thought about it as he went over to the counter to place their orders.

Bridgette was one of a very small number of people, on or off the island that Courtney was really comfortable with. He knew that she wanted him to become friends with her for the coming season, especially if they ended up on the same team.

Bridgette was a nice and fairly pretty young woman and Cody did hope that they would become friends. They had never interacted much on or off of the show, but he hoped that would change in the near future. Not just to put Courtney at ease, but to make friends like he had intended too on the show in the first place.

Then a thought occurred to him.

"You think Chris would put us on different teams now that he knows were together?" Cody asked in a slightly worried tone. Because that meant he would have to fight his girlfriend, and he knew that Courtney played to win and you shouldn't get in her way.

Courtney took a few minutes to think it over; somehow it had never occurred to her that Chris would go out of his way to separate them now that he knew they were together. A separated couple would create no small amount of drama.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds like something he would do." Courtney finally agreed, now feeling slightly depressed. Their sadistic host had already done that to Trent and Gwen, and that had just spiraled out of control.

Cody tried to think of something cool and reassuring to say, unlike in movies, it was rather hard to think of the right to say in moments like this.

"Well he can't separate us here, so let's just enjoy ourselves. Besides, the next season is still a ways away and no one knows what'll happen.

Courtney didn't seem to be convinced, so Cody looked for another way to change the subject.

"Is that Heather and Ezekiel over their?" The words left his mouth before he was even able to process them, so even he was surprised by what he saw.

The raven haired popular girl and the home schooled prairie boy were, in fact, sitting together at a table in the corner. There were two small pizzas sitting in front of them, though Ezekiel seemed to be the only one eating. Heather was going on a tangent about something and waving her arms for emphasis. Ezekiel sat across from her, chewing a slice of pepperoni, but seemed to be giving her his full attention none the less.

The other two teens in the room stared at them, Courtney slightly more blatantly. There was just something so wrong about the sight in front of them, but it made an odd amount of sense. The most disliked male and female on the entire show were sitting together.

Though the former was somewhat debatable after everything Justin had pulled during season two.

"What in the world?" Courtney asked in disbelief. "That's just so wrong!"

Cody nodded, but for a different reason than his girlfriend. He knew that the girls didn't like Ezekiel for the most part, though that anger had faded somewhat over time. But the toque wearing teen had said those things more out of naïveté than any real sexist thoughts, and most people had come to realize that and move on.

Heather, on the other hand, was one of the meanest girls Cody had ever met. The girl had pretended to be friends with several people and then ditched them when they weren't useful anymore. She had caused rifts inside the teams that had them turn on one another for no real reason. And to top it off, she had tried to break up Trent and Gwen just so they wouldn't look out for each other during season one.

She had been slightly mellower during season two, only acting like a general brat at times compared to season one. Even so, she had done better than she had any right to.

"They're on a date." Cody said in faint disbelief.

"They're not on a date," Cody turned to look at Courtney. "It just can't be there's no way!"

"They're sure look like they're on a date." Cody insisted lightly.

"They're having a bite to eat, that doesn't make it a date."

"We're just sitting and having lunch."

"That's different; we're dating so that makes it a date."

"Maybe they're secretly dating."

Courtney gave her boyfriend a disbelieving look.

"What, like any of the other couples here make sense."

"They're not even having a real conversation, Heathers just whining about something and no one else will listen."

"Poor guy," Cody muttered lightly.

He honestly hoped she was right, if this was a date then Heather probably wanted something from Ezekiel, though what the prairie boy could have that she wanted was another question all together.

"He can walk away any time he wants, it's his choice to be there."

Cody and Courtney managed to stop staring before Heather or Ezekiel noticed. But even after Cody got up to get the food when it was finished they continued to give the two small looks.

Eventually, Heather stopped ranting and started to eat her pizza. Ezekiel contributed little to the actual conversation, but gave the occasional reply. This might have been the longest conversation he had ever had with a girl on the show, and he had yet to insult her.

Cody managed to get Courtney's attention and asked her about the new book she was working on. She had already written a successful self help series for teenagers, but had put her writing career on hold after that to focus on other things and was only now getting back to it.

The meal was nice, and the conversation trailed off into simple areas while they ate. Friends of both, those who did and did not have dates, had come to get some food and stopped to say hello to at least one of them.

It was enough to keep the pair from touching on anything sensitive, and nothing truly interesting happened. The only noteworthy moment was when Heather seemed to realize other people were now in the cafe and quickly left her table, not even pausing to say goodbye to Ezekiel.

Her hasty retreat wasn't lost on the prairie boy, who looked somewhat put out when she left. And even Courtney, who still held something of a grudge against the boy, thought it had been bad manners.

After she finished her meal Courtney began to excuse herself.

"Since we're going to spend tomorrow together I'm going to go talk to some of the others. You don't mind, do you?"

Cody was still finishing his meal and shook his head. "Nah, go have fun. I'll see what the others are up too.

After a hug and kiss on the cheek Courtney was walking over to DJ. DJ had two salads in front of him, one for him and the other for bunny.

Cody was just finishing the last of his fries when Leshawna walked in. Harold was working on something in his room so she decided to get a bite to eat. The city girl had first grabbed a bottle of water. She had intended to get some food too, but when she saw Cody without Courtney she decided now was a good time to have a talk with him.

"Hey short stuff, how's it going?" Leshawna greeted her old teammate with a smile. One he returned, she hadn't meant it as an insult he was sure.

"Pretty good, how about you?"

"No complaints, you mind if we talk minute?"

Cody, who was taking a drink, simply shook his head in response.

"Cool, I need to know if that new girl of yours is going to get over what Harold did anytime soon."

Slightly put off by the way she referred to Courtney, the Brunet told Leshawna about what had happened between them that morning. Leshawna looked a bit relieved to hear what happened.

"Finally, Harold's been guilt tripping over that forever. It's about time she let it go."

"Well Harold did cheat to get her kicked off." He knew that they didn't get along, and while he liked Leshawna, he also thought Courtney deserved someone to defend her.

"Yeah, and it tore him up inside! I know you like her Cody, but that girl has one hell of a chip on her shoulder."

"Nobody's perfect," Cody shrugged. Under other circumstances, he would have avoided a confrontation with Leshawna if he could, the city girl could be pretty harsh when she wanted to be, but he had to say something.

"Besides, she did have the right to be mad at him. Did it get a little out of hand? Yes, but Harold never bothered to apologize until now, he's partially to blame for this."

"I'm not saying he was right to do what he did. But that girl didn't exactly make things easy for him."

Leshawna sighed before speaking to Cody again.

"Look I didn't come here to fight with you; I just want this thing resolved before it goes too far." The large sister certainly sounded sincere.

"Like I said, they had a talk. Courtney just needs a bit of space while she gets over things."

Seeming to accept that, Leshawna turned around to leave again, and then paused after she had turned around and faced him again.

"Oh yeah, one other thing I meant to ask you."

"What's that?"

"What did you ever do with Gwen's bra?"

Cody flushed at the question, and looked around in embarrassment. Fortunately no one else seemed to have heard the question, and Courtney had left after a short word with DJ so she wasn't around.

"I gave it back to her after she was voted off during season two. I always meant to give it back, but that was the first chance I had too."

_Courtney would kill me if I hadn't._

Nodding, the African-Canadian teen went to get her meal.

Cody sighed in relief when she left; the last question had made him particularly uncomfortable.

He hoped that Courtney never brought the subject up; he didn't even want to think about what her reaction would be.

* * *

This was mostly an intermission chapter, so I know not a lot happened. I expect the next chapter or two to get back to the drama part of their relationship. Here's a hint, Gwen and Courtney have a little talk.

Also, to anyone who didn't know, the relationship I mentioned was Ezekiel and Heather from The Kobold Necromancers, Total Drama Comeback. If you haven't read it I suggest you do, the buildup for this pairing was truly impressive.

And on another note, the bra thing was just because some people brought it up. I had honestly forgotten about it, but decided to tie it up as a loose end. Now please review and tell me your thoughts, I'm always eager for feedback.


	10. Projective Perspective

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

I know this took a while, but the reasons are the same now as they were before. College, the full-time devourer! I wish I had as much time to type my stories, or just sit and plan them, but I don't anymore.

I had hoped to have this up for my stories anniversary. Valentines Day! But it didn't work out like I'd hoped. Which might be just as good, this isn't really a romance heavy chapter.

* * *

Chapter Ten: Projective Perspective

Courtney's break wasn't going as well as she had hoped. But the 'vacation' had at least allowed her to deal with a few of her personal demons sooner rather than later. The break had at least allowed her to do that and get away from the pressures of home for a while.

But some things are forced by others, even as we may try to postpone them indefinitely.

Gwen had never been her favorite person, even before all the rumors around her and Duncan started. To be fair though, that was more a case of conflicting beliefs and personality clashes than any real dislike. But season two had been different. Gwen didn't like the show, didn't want to be there, but she had been given another chance at the million dollars on season two when she hadn't been.

And if that wasn't enough, she and Duncan had gotten very close after Trent was voted off. True, they had been friends before that. But once Trent was out of the way, Duncan decided that there was no reason the two couldn't get closer.

Was Gwen really unaware of how her not-boyfriend had been checking her out or was she just playing coy? She still wasn't completely sure. But she knew that Duncan had been flirting with her, even after he made it clear he thought they were together.

Out of sight, out of mind, she supposed.

She was willing to put up with her because she knew that Cody considered her a good friend, even though she had never treated him very well on camera.

So when Gwen approached her, she intended to at least be civil to the pale girl.

That vow lasted about as long as a New Years resolution.

"Hello Gwen," the brunette forced out. The gothic girl had spoken to her while she was leaving the room and asked to talk. It had seemed like a request, so she decided to go with it.

"What's your game?" Gwen, not being one to mess around, got right to the point.

"E-Excuse me," Courtney stuttered out, caught momentarily off guard by the hostility.

"What do you want with, Cody?" Gwen clarified, crossing her arms.

Want with him? She wandered to herself.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb, you wouldn't be dating Cody if you didn't want something."

Courtney gaped at the other girl, frustration and anger rushing through her while her face began to heat up.

"How dare you! I wouldn't do something like that!"

Gwen scoffed and looked the other girl in the eye, matching her glare.

"I know your kind Courtney, everything you do is a means to get ahead in life. This is no different then when you pretended to like Justin."

Despite the righteous indignation she was feeling, Courtney couldn't help but wince at the reminder. Pretending to like Justin hadn't been personal, and it wasn't like she had been overly forward with him. She had just let him draw his own conclusions, and hopefully remind Duncan that she wasn't going to wait for him.

"It was a tactical move, nothing more. We were in the middle of a contest," Courtney ranted, trying to convince herself as much as Gwen.

"So when the contest starts over, you'll dump Cody?"

Courtney automatically lashed out, but unable to think of an appropriate verbal response, she did so physically.

She was shocked as Gwen was when her backhand knocked the pale girl back a half step. Stunned by her own violent actions, Courtney stood there, motionless, until an uppercut knocked her onto the ground.

From there it was all a blur, Gwen jumped on and punched her while she kneed the other girl and the stomach and grabbed her hair. She could hear someone; she wasn't positive who, screaming. Eventually someone reached over and tried to separate them, though it took several more people to do it successfully.

It had only been two and a half minutes, but the girls had managed to do a decent amount of damage to each other. Courtney had a fair amount of light bruising on her face, and a bloody lip, while both her sleeves had been torn off. Gwen was holding her chest, where she'd been kicked several times. She was bleeding lightly from her neck where nails had dug into her skin, blood leaked down to her torn shirt. Trent was holding her up, asking if she was okay while she panted.

Courtney was being held by Cody and Bridgette, each one looking worried and confused. Unable to respond to anything around her, Courtney pulled away and marched up to her room.

This time though, Cody chased after her.

* * *

Trent wasn't sure what had happened. He'd been trying to find his girlfriend when he heard Owen screaming, seemingly panicked.

"Girl fight! Catfight! Oh where's a chocolate milkshake when you need one?"

Chocolate… Ignoring that odd thought for the moment, Trent followed the yelling just in time to see Gwen tackle Courtney who was already on the ground.

Shocked, confused, and secretly a little afraid, the musician hesitated to get between the two. Though he justified himself that Gwen seemed to have the upper hand at the moment.

Amazingly, it was Izzy who finally tried to break them apart, if only so she could show them how to fight properly. But even the oddly psychotic teenager wasn't able to do it alone. He, DJ, and Geoff were needed to finally drag the two apart.

He helped Gwen to her feet. Stopping for a moment to glare at Duncan, who had been trying to take bets and didn't look ashamed of that fact at all. He held Gwen as she huffed in anger and tried to figure out what happened, mildly panicked by the blood around her neck.

She finally muttered something about going to the infirmary before walking off. Courtney was already doing the same thing in a different direction while Cody followed her. He wanted answers, but Gwen needed to see a nurse first.

He knew his friend had something to do with this, even if it wasn't really his fault. He just knew it.

Gwen was very protective of her friends.

* * *

Heather had to stop herself from laughing too loudly.

Weird Goth Girl and the Crackpot in Training had gone at it. And she had seen the whole thing.

Gwen looked even worse then usual. Heather mused silently, remembering how disheveled her rival appeared when she walked to the nurse.

And the truly hilarious part, they'd been fighting over that tech-geek Cody! She was going to get so much mileage out of this.

Unable to control herself, she started audibly cackling. Ezekiel watched her, afraid, from a few feet away. He had stayed away while the girls had gone at it, and hoped they hadn't hurt each other too badly. But he chose not to get involved so the aggression wouldn't switch to him.

Eva was making some offhand comments about the mistakes the girls had made during the fight. Where they should have aimed and how to properly grapple among other things, she just seemed disappointed she hadn't been involved.

Lindsay was raving to anyone who would listen that Carol and Gaudy had gotten into a fight, despite being one of the last to find out about it. No one bothered correcting her about the names, they were used to it.

Heathers thoughts were less sensitive.

__

_Please tell me Chris got that on tape!_

* * *

Once she reached her room and slammed the door, Courtney began to scream. But there were no tears this time, only anger. The brunette began to methodically destroy the room she had been given. Not even noticing when Cody cautiously opened the door, which she had forgotten to lock.

Intimidated by the sight of a chair shattering against the wall, Cody sat back and watched while Courtney vented on her pillow for several minutes before falling onto her bed with a sigh. Unsure where to begin, he stood quietly, waiting for a sign of some kind.

"I really need better lawyers," Courtney commented randomly.

"What?"

"I mean, if I had better lawyers I wouldn't have gotten drawn into this stupid event. And I probably wouldn't be stuck spending half a semester on a new season, that'll probably end up indecisively again, and land us on a fourth."

Eyes darting around the damaged room, Cody tried to think of an appropriate response. When nothing came to mind, he settled for changing the subject.

"So…what happened with Gwen just now?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But I-"

"Just drop it, please."

Giving in for the moment, Cody went to get an icepack to help with the bruising that was beginning to show.

* * *

"That bitch!"

"Gwen-"

Gwen cut Trent off. "I swear I am going to take that silver spoon from her mouth and dig her eyes out with it." This was followed by a long series of threats that Gwen claimed she would follow through on once the nurse was done working on her.

Once the young Latin woman left (eager to get away from her rather volatile charge) Gwen began to calm down, which probably had something with Trent being back with her, instead of a strange woman who had been putting a stinging ointment on her cuts. Courtney's nails were surprisingly sharp, as it turned out.

Gwen was in no mood to talk, and experience told Trent that trying to force it would not go over well. So the musician settled for playing a few notes on his harmonica. She seemed appreciate it too.

Finishing one of the few songs he knew for the small instrument, he waited for Gwen to say something. She didn't like awkward silences.

"I really dislike her," and she had just proven him right.

Which puts her, what, half a step below Heather's hate. Trent thought to himself, trying to figure out where to begin.

"I mean I knew she had issues, but she just went and slugged me. For someone always trying to act the pacifist she really is a hypocrite." This one-sided conversation went on for about twenty minutes until Gwen got tired and stood up.

"Thanks for listening Trent, see you tomorrow." A quick kiss and Trent watched her disappear, still not having the full story behind the fight.

Maybe he should just let it go for now.

* * *

"She is so abrasive!" Courtney growled, but nodded in thanks for the aspirin and icepack Cody had brought her.

Despite telling him to drop the subject, Courtney had continued to make small remarks about what had happened. This let Cody drew a rough mental picture of what happened.

"Gwen's not that bad," he responded, sitting down next to her in the bed.

Courtney scoffed, but didn't offer a real rebuttal.

Unsure and not willing to try and lecture her with so many facts missing, Cody wrapped an arm around her and gave her a loose hug.

The smile she gave him through the pain suggested he had done the right thing.

"You think I'll get in trouble for this?" Courtney made a gesture at the broken items around the room.

"I doubt it; Chris forced us here so he'll probably get stuck with the bill." Cody commented, wondering what the host did when he wasn't making them miserable. They hadn't seen him since he had welcomed them the other day.

"Think he actually got a date?"

"If he does, the girl has my sympathy." Courtney said, wondering who could be desperate enough to date that narcissist.

After a few minutes of silence Cody suggested they watch something on the small television the room was equipped with, not wanting to face anyone else right now Courtney quickly agreed.

* * *

Okay, several things I feel I should say.

First of all, my profile should be updated a few days after this chapter is loaded, two or three probably.

Second is the subject of Gwen. I realized that some people might get the wrong idea from her actions this chapter. Let me make it clear, Gwen is not some villain out to breakup Cody and Courtney. She's a concerned friend who really doesn't like someone said friend is dating. That's all.

Third, my update speed is slow for many reasons. Real life, college, other interests, and I needed to prove to myself that fanfiction was only a part of my life. Long story, tell you later.

And just to be clear, because I know the fight scene was a bit chaotic. Courtney threw the first punch when her temper got the better of her. So take that however you'd like.

All in all, I'm actually pretty satisfied with how this chapter came out. And I hope that I get a good response from readers telling me what you think. And since this is only one of two active stories I have right now, updates should be a bit quicker.


	11. Preparations to Party

Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama Island, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Yeah, it's been forever. I have reasons that this update took so long. School, internships, family, life in general! But I won't bore you with a complete list. I will say this though, this story will only be a few more chapters, two to four probably, and I expect to give this most of my writing attention until it is finished.

Also, so no one gets confused, I started writing this just before Total Drama Action came out, and while it may take certain elements from TDA and TDWT, it should be considered AU from the end of TDI.

And since someone asked, I'll also say this. Chances for a sequel are slim, but I will leave the idea there for when I finish my other stories. Now, let's get on with the show.

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Preparations to Party

The lingering tension from the fight the other day had all but been forgotten. After all, today was Valentines Day, the most romantic day of the year! There would be time for grudges later.

At some point after the teens had gone to bed, the hotel had been decorated with pink streamers, hearts, and other romantic icons. A little gaudy perhaps, but it helped set the mood. The only room still being worked on was the main hall, which would be transformed for the grand ball tonight.

Obviously, this event meant a little more to the couples on the island then the others. But there would be a great deal of flirting and dancing all around.

But the former/future competitors weren't the only ones with an interest in tonight's event.

Chris had looked over hours of quality footage in his private suite with an almost fond smile on his face. Seriously, these kids were a goldmine! Drama, angst, romance, violence, everything he needed to make a good Valentines special.

The hardest part would be picking out which footage should be shown on the air and what should be held off for the bonus scenes on the Collectors Edition DVD, especially after the big dance tonight.

Not that he would be around to watch it. It was Valentines Day and he had a few women to entertain, starting with a cute blonde for lunch in a few hours.

…he was pretty sure her name was Michele. And then there was the leggy Italian for an early dinner, an Irish redhead for a nice desert, then maybe a fourth woman if he didn't get distracted.

So what if he couldn't remember all of their names, they were hot! And isn't that what really mattered in life?

"Okay Chef, my choppers waiting. I'll see you back here sometime tomorrow. Enjoy the dance, and get lots of good footage." Chris said, getting up and stretching.

"What are you talking about fool? I've got a date tonight." Was the indignant response from behind him, Chris raised an eyebrow at that.

"Really?" Genuinely surprised, Chris turned around, then wished he hadn't.

Chef Hatchet was wearing a large peach colored dress, complete with matching gloves and a small silver necklace.

Chris felt his eye twitch as he looked at his assistant, the outfit showed more of his back and legs then he'd ever cared to see.

"Uh, dude…"

"Don't judge me."

"Oh my gosh Katie, this is so exciting."

"I know Sadie; this is going to be the best night ever!"

The faux twins launched into their latest batch of squeals, and for once they weren't the only girls doing it. In addition to the dance, the girls would be given access to a wardrobe full of beautiful dresses to wear for the night. In addition to this, a room full of makeup, accessories, and other things to make themselves up.

The boys were being given access to a room full of tuxes, but weren't nearly as excited about it. Still, at least they wouldn't look totally plain next to the girls.

While they began to gush over the outfits they would be wearing, Noah was doing something out of character. Giving himself a pep-talk.

_Okay, this isn't a big deal. Just go over there and ask her to the dance tonight. The worst she can do is say no…and then laugh at me with the others, sending me into a never-ending spiral of torment and misery._

Well, no one ever took Noah to be an optimist.

"Hey, Noah!" The two girls beamed at him as he hesitantly walked over, though only one of them had his attention.

"Aren't you just super excited about the dance?" The larger one asked.

"Super duper excited," was the reflexive response. Noah winced inwardly at the tone, but it hadn't seemed to damper the enthusiasm of the girls at all so he continued.

"Say Katie…" He paused to find the right words. "Would you…maybe, kinda, take, No!" Noah stopped after tripping over his own words.

"Yeah?" Katie asked, giving Noah her full attention for the first time.

Noah rushed out a response. "…Save me a dance, would you?"

"Sure!" Noah stared as the twins skip away giggling like mad, Feeling extremely disappointed in himself.

_Better then nothing, I guess._

"Yo, yo, yo. Let's dance homies!" Ezekiel finished with a hang loose sign he'd seen on television.

Ezekiel held the pose in the mirror for a few seconds before dropping it with a sigh. It was painfully apparent, even to someone as socially awkward as him, that this look was not working for him. He needed to change.

The first thing he did was loose the sunglasses, then the overly large hat, which he replaced with his trademark torque. He kept the golden Z medallion though, he thought it looked cool. But instead of his regular clothes, he was trying on a dark green suit he planned to wear to the dance tonight. It had been most like the suit he used to wear to functions his parents brought him too.

He was usually the youngest one there by a decade or two. Part of the reason he had signed up for the show.

Well, none of that mattered now! He was going to a dance with kids his own age, just like on TV!

He just had to be sure not to follow anything else he'd seen on TV. That had gotten him into a world of trouble last time.

Duncan lazily looked around the room and sighed. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to go to the stupid dance tonight, let alone dress up for it.

_Let's see,_ Duncan thought to himself. _Bridgette, Lindsay, Gwen, Leshawna…Courtney, all the good looking birds are taken. There is Heather I guess, but she's so annoying. I could always ditch the party…_

He gave a sudden start. Not going to the party, no way! Even if he didn't have a date he could probably get a dance out of all of them. And maybe convince one to come with him for a private after party.

An odd sight broke him out of his dirtier thoughts. Heather walking down the hallway, elaborate dress in hand, her nose stuck in the air. In and of itself, not an unusual sight.

But Ezekiel watching her out of the corner of his eye from the door to the changing room was an interesting turn.

Duncan put the facts together and promptly burst out laughing. Zeke was crushing on the Queen Bee. And he probably thought that he was being discreet about it too.

_God speed home school, _Duncan thought once he finally got control of himself. _You're in for a bumpy ride._

Courtney looked through another set of dresses, stopping twice to consider something, and then continuing along the row.

She had to make sure that she looked nice tonight. But not in a way that could come across as being trampy, or overly conservative. She also had to make sure that she had a pair of shoes to match the dress she picked up. She also had to shower, apply a tasteful amount of makeup, and fix her hair. And she should probably check up on Cody to make sure that he was preparing for tonight.

To some people, mainly men, this would seem like too much preparation. But in her defense, this dance was going to going to end up on television. And the Total Drama series reached over six million viewers on North America alone!

Cody looked over his selection with a confident smile. He had gone with a traditional black and white tux, like one would wear to the prom. He had also thought ahead and had a corsage to give to Courtney, which he thought was a pretty smooth move.

And if the dance went as well as he'd hoped, he'd give Courtney a special present he had been holding onto for about two weeks now.

The rest of the cast were in the middle of similar preparations.

Geoff was trying on a salmon pink tux, and Bridgette was getting ready in a dress the same color. The two had prepared early and spent the rest of the day making out.

Beth was getting into a perky outfit that vaguely resembled a sunflower. The yellow flowers sown into the neckline might have had something to do with that.

DJ was making sure that Bunny would be taken care of tonight when he went to enjoy himself at the dance. He would have brought the little guy, but he didn't want to risk him getting stepped on.

Gwen was getting into a dark blue dress, with matching gloves and a special necklace that she had brought from home especially for the dance.

Trent had a long sleeved white shirt and long dark pants on. He had decided not to go to far tonight. He was much more focused on the song he planned to sing to Gwen tonight, checking it over for the twentieth time that day.

Eva had refused to wear a dress, and was wearing a light blue tux that she had snuck out of the boys changing room.

Duncan had on a tight black shirt and equally dark jeans. He also had a special surprise in a bottle, just incase the party needed to be taken up a notch.

Ezekiel was practicing some dance moves he had seen on TV, with mild success. But he had his dark green tux on his bed to change into later.

Heather had on an elaborate silver dress that had a slit riding up on either side. She already knew she would be the star of the dance.

Harold was showing off to Leshawna in his white tux, while the city girl watched in amusement, her gold dress hanging on the back of the bathroom door.

People would be even more amused when they saw her dancing.

Izzy was wearing a tight red dress that seemed to flow like fire, and had her hair stacked high to compliment the illusion.

Owen, in a tradition tuxedo, had to talk her out of setting parts of it on fire to make it seem more real.

Katie and Sadie were in matching turquoise dresses, hugging and crying for the fourth time that night. They had also given up on wearing mascara for the occasion.

Noah had reluctantly gone without his normal sweater vest for a light purple tux that he thought made him look pretty cool. But tonight, he was hoping someone else would think he looked nice.

Lindsay and Tyler were making out in the hot tub again. The baby blues out fits were lying on hangers in the other room. They would be the last to arrive that night.

Justin was dressed to kill in an all black tux. He had already had it, after wearing it in a prom commercial and being allowed to keep it. Fixing up his hair would take much longer.

It was going to be a night to remember.

* * *

And the eleventh chapter is finally done! I know what your thinking, short. But it was a filler. And next chapter will have the dance, or at least a part of it, depending on how long it gets.

On a different note, I'm currently working on stories for other categories. If anyone here is interested in other series, check out my profile, maybe you'll find something interesting to read.

And as cliché as this request may sound, please leave a review and let me know what you think. I appreciate the feedback.


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